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atoi.  e  .  i4\ 


THE  GENERAL 


BIOGRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY. 


A  NEW  EDITION. 


VOL.  VL 


Printed  by  Nichols,  Son,  and  Bentlbv,- 
Rtd  Ubn  PafMC«»  i^cct  fttrett,  London* 


THE  GENERAL 

BIOGRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY: 

CONTAINING 

AN  HISTORICAL  AND  CRITICAL  ACCOUNT 

or  turn 

LIVES  AND  WRITINGS 

OF  THX 

MOST  EMINENT  PERSONS 

IN  EVERY  NATION^ 

PARTICULARLY  THE  BRITISH  AND  IRISH; 
FROM  THE  EARLIEST  ACCOUNTS  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


A  NEW  EDITION, 

REVISED  AND  ENLARQED  BY 

ALEXANDER  CHALMERS,  F.  S.  A. 


VOL.  VI. 


LONDON! 

I 

I  FftlKTED  FOR  J.  NICHOLS    AMD   SON }     F.   C.    AND  J.  RIVINGTON  |    T.   FAYNX  | 

I  W.  OTRIDGB    AND    SON }      O.   AND     W.    NICOL  ;     WILKIB     AND     ROBINSON } 

; '  J.    WALKER  $       R.    LEA  ;     W.    LOWNDES ;      WHITE,     COCHRANE,    AND    CO.  | 

\  JU  DBJGBTON;  T.  EGERTON;   LACKINGTON,  ALLEN,   AND  CO.  ;  J.  CARPENTERS 

IX>NGMAN,  BURST,  REE8,  ORME,  AND  BROWN  |  CADELL  AND  DAVIES  ;  C.  LAW  { 
I  J.  BOOKER  ;   J.  CUTHELL;  CLARKE  AND  8M«S;   J.  AND  A.  ARCH  ;   J.  HARRIS  | 

I  BLACK,   PARRY,    ilND   CO.;     J.. BOOTH  {     J.  MAWMAN ;     GALE   AND   CURTIS  | 

K.  H.  EVANS;  J.  HATCHARD;  K  HARDING  ;  R.  BALDWIN;  J.  MURRAY |-  J.  JOHN* 

#0N  AND  CO. ;  £•  BRNTLSY  i  AND  J.  FAULDER. 

1812. 


A  NEW  AND  GENERAL 


BIOGRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY. 


xJOHUN  (Edmund),  a  voluminous  political  and  mis-* 
ceilaneous  writer  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  born  at 
Ringsfield,  in  Suffolk,  the  only  son  of  Baxter  Bohun,  wh6 
with  his  ancestors,  had  been  lords  of  the  manor  of  West- 
hall,  in  that  county,  from  the  25th  Henry  yill.  In  1663, 
he  was  admitted  fellow*cdnjinpn^r  of  Queen's  college, 
Canabridge,  and  continued  th'6re  titttjie  latter  <?nd  of  166.0, 
when  the  plague  obliged  hi(b  a)»  dtbers  to  leave  the  uni- 
versity. In  1675  he  was  niadeji  jjisticf^/of  peace  for  Suf- 
folk, and  continued  in  thitOTCettiU 'the  second  of  J^ 
II.  when  he  was  discharged,  T)ii;^'?pyfes^ -restored  to  that  office 
in  the  first  of  William  and  Mary.  The  time  of  his  death 
is  not  mentioned,  but  he  was  alive  in  1700.  Rewrote, 
1.  **  An  Address  to  the  Freemen  and  Freeholders  of  the 
nation,  in  three  parts,  being  the  history  of  three  sessions 
of  parliament  in  1678,  1682,  and  1683,"  4to.  2.  *«  A  De- 
fence of  the  Declaration  of  king  Charles  IL  against  a 
pamphlet  styled,  A  just  and  modest  Vindication  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  two  last  Parliaments."  This  was  printec} 
with  and  added  to  the  Address.  3.  "  A  Defence  of  Sir 
Robert  Filmer,  against  the  mistakes  and  representations  of 
Algernon  Sydney,  esq.  in  a  paper  delivered  by  him  to  the 
sfaeriflFs  upon  the*  scaffold  on  Tower-hill,  on  Friday,  Ded 
7,  16 as,  before  his  execution  there,"  Lond.  1684.  4.  «  The 
Justice  of  Peace's  Calling,  a  moral  essay,"  Lond.  1684, 
«vo.  5.  "  A  Preface  and  Conclusion  to  Sir  Robert  Filmer's 
Patriarcha,"' ibid.  1685, -Svo;  6;  "A  GeograjAical  Dic- 
tionary," ibid.  1688,  8vo.  7.  "Thq  History  of  the  Deser- 
tion ;  or  an  account  of  all  the  public  affairs  of  Englandj, 
Vol.  VI.  ^       B 


2  B  O  H  U  N. 

from  the  beginning  of  Sept.  1688  to  Feb.  12  following,'* 
ibid.  1689,  8vo.  8.  "  An  Answer  to  a  piece  called  The 
Desertion  discussed  (by  Jeremy  Collier),"  printed  at  the  end  ' 
of  the  '<  History  of  the  Desertion."  9.  "  The  Doctrine  of 
Passive  Obedience  and  Non» Resistance  no  way  concerned 
in  the  controversies  now  depending  between  the  Williamites 
and  the  Jacobites,"  ibid.  1689,  4to.  In  page  24th  is  a 
'  passage  respecting  bishop  Ken,  which  Mr.  Bohun  found  to 
be  untrue,  and  therefore  requests  that  it  may  be  cancelled. 
10.  "  The  Life  of  John  Jewell,  bishop  of  Salisbury,*'  pre- 
fixed to  a  translation  of  his  Apology,  1685.  11.  "Three 
Charges  delivered  at  the  general  quarter  sessions  holden  at 
Ipswich,  for  the  county  of  Suffolk,  in  IC91,  1692,  and 
1693,"  4to.  12.  "The  great  Historical,  Geographical^ 
and  Poetical  Dictionary,"  Lond.  1694,  fol.  He  also  trans- 
lated Sicurus'  origin  of  Atheism — the  Universal  Biblio- 
theque,  or  account  of  books  for  Jan.  Feb.  and  March  1687 
— Sleidan's  History  of  the  Reformation — PuffendorfF's  Pre- 
sent State  of  Germany,  and  Degory  Wheare's  Method  of 
reading  History,  Lond.  1698,  8vo. ' 

BOIARDO  (Matteo-Mauia),  count  of  Scandiano,  an 
Italian  poet,  was  born  at  the  castle  of  Scandiano,  near 
Ileggio  in  Lombardy,  about  the  year  1434.  He  studied  at 
the  university  of  Ferrara,  and  remained  in  that  city  the 
greater  part  of  his  life,  attached  to  the  ducal  court.  He 
was  particularly  in  great  favour  with  the  duke  Borso  and 
Hercules  I.  his  successor.  He  accompanied  Borso  in  a 
journey  to  Rome  in  1471,  and  the  year  following  was  se- 
lected by  Hercules  to  escort  to  Ferrara,  Eleortora  of  Ara- 
gon,  his  future  duchess.  In  1481  he  was  appointed  go- 
vernor of  Reggio,  and  was  also  captain-general  pf  Modena, 
He  died  at  Reggio,  Dec.  20,  1494.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  learned  and  accomplished  men  of  his  time,  a  very 
distinguished  Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  and  at  a  time  when 
Italian  poetry  was  in  credit,  one  of  those  poets  who  added 
to  the  reputation  of  his  age  and  country.  He  translated 
Herodotus  from  the  Greek  into  Italian,  and  Apuleius  from 
the  Latin.  He  wrote  also  Latin  poetry,  as  his  "  Carmen 
Bucolicum,"  eight  eclogues  in  hexameters,  dedicated  to 
duke  Hercules  I.  Reggio,  1500,*4to;  Venice,  1528;  and 
in  Italian,  "  Sonetti  e  Canzoni,"  Reggio,  1499,  4to;  Ve- 
nice, 1501,  4to,  in  a  style  rather  easy  than  elegant,  and 

»  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  n., 


B  O  I  A  R  D  O.  3 

occasionally  betraying  the  aothof  s  learning',  but  withouC 
affectation.  Hercules  of  Este  was  the  first  of  the  Italian 
sovereigns  who  entertained  the  court  with  a  magnificent 
theatre  on  which  Greek  or  Latin  comedies,  translated  into 
Italian,  were  performed.  For  this  theatre  Boiardo  wrote 
his  *^  Timon,"  taken  from  a  dialogue  of  Lucian,  which 
may  be  accounted  the  first  comedy  written  in  Italian.  The 
first  edition  of  it,  according  to  Tiraboschi,  was  that  printed 
at  Scandiano,  1500,  4to.  The  one,  without  a  date,  in 
$vo,  he  thinks  was  the  second.  It  was  afterwards  reprinted 
at  Venice,  1504,  1515,  and  1517,  8vo.  But  Boiardo  is 
principally  known  by  his  epic  romance  of  ^'  Orlando  In^ 
namorato,"  of  which  the  celebrated  poem  of  Ariosto  is  not 
only  an  imitation,  but  a  continuation.  Of  this  work,  he  did 
not  live  to  complete  the  third  book,  nor  is  it  probable  that 
any  part  of  it  had  the  advantage  of  his  last  corrections,  yet 
it  is  justly  regarded  as  exhibiting,  upon  the  whole,  a 
warmth  of  imagination,  and  a  vivacity  of  colouring,  which 
rendered  it  highly  interesting :  nor  is  it,  perhaps,  without 
reason,  that  the  simplicity  of  the  original  has  occasioned 
it  to  be  preferred  to  the  same  work,  as  altered  or  reformed 
by  Francesco  Berni  (See  Brrni).  The  ^'  Orlando  Innamo- 
rato"  was  first  printed  at  Scandiano,  about  the  year  1495, 
and  afterwards  at  Venice,  1500,  which  De  Bure  erro- 
neously calls  the  first  edition.  From  the  third  book  where 
Boiardo's  labours  cease,  it  was  continued  by  Niccolo  Agos* 
tini,  and  of  this  joint  production  numerous  editions  have 
been  published.  ^ 

BOILEAU  (Nicholas  Despeeaux),  an  eminent  French 
poet,  usually  called  by  his  countrymen  Despreaux,  was 
born  on  November  1,  1636.  Hi»  parents  were  Gilles 
Boileaii,  register  of  the  great  chamber,  and  Ann  de  Nielle^ 
his  second  wife ;  but  it  is.  uncertain  whether  he  was  born 
at  Paris  or  Crone.  In  his  early  years,  he  was  the  reverse 
of  those  infantine  prodigies  who  often  in  mature  age  scarcely 
attain  to  mediocrity ;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  heavy  and 
taciturn ;  nor  was  his  taciturnity  of  that  observing  kind 
which  denotes  sly  mischief  at  the  bottom,  but  the  down- 
right barren  taciturnity  of  insipid  good-nature.  His  father, 
on  comparing  him  with  his  other  children,  used  to  say, 
*^  as  for  this,  he  is  a  good-tempered  fellow,  who  will  never 

>  Glngnenk  Hitt  Litt.  d'll«lie.->Ro8COc'i  i:^.— Martri.— Tiimboicbi.«-SMJI 
Ononattioon. 

B  2 


4  B  O  I  L  E  A  0. 

speftkill'of  anyone,"     In  his  infancy,  hdWever,  be  ap- 
pe^.s  to  have  been  of  a  very  tender  constitution,  and  i» 
a^.id  to  have  undergone  the  operation  for  the  «tone  at  the 
^ge  of  eight     Through  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  his 
fp.iaaily,  be  commenced  with  being  a  counsellor;  but  the 
dryness  of  the  Code  and  Digest  soon  disgusted  him  with 
this  pmfessioD,.  which,  his  eulogist  thinks,  was  a  loss  to 
ibe  bar.     When  M.  Dongois,  his  brother-in^l^w,  register 
oi  parliament,  took  him  to  his  house  in  order  to  form  hitn 
to  the  style  of  business,  he  had  a  decree  to  draw  up  in  aa 
ioiportant  cause,    which   he   composed  with    enthusiasm^ 
whdie,  he  dictated  it  to  Boileau  with  an  emphasis  which 
shewed  how  much  he  was  satisfied  with  the  sublimity  of 
his  work;  but  when  he  had  finished,  he  perceived  that 
Boileau  was  fallen  asleep,  after  having  written  but  few 
wou'ds.     Trasksported  with  anger,  he  sent  him  back  to  his 
fj^ther,  assuring  l^im  he  "  would  be  nothing  but  a  block- 
head all  the  rest  of  his  life."     After  this  he  began  to  study 
scbiolastic  divinity,  wliich  was  still  less  suited  to  his  taste, 
9n4  at  length  he  became  what  he  himself  wished  to  be — si 
Poet;  and,  as  if  to  belie,  at  setting  out,  his  father's  pre- 
diction, he  commenced  at  the  age  of  thirty,  with  satire, 
which  let  loose  against  him  the  crowd  of  writers  whom  he 
attacked,  but  gave  him  firiends,  or  rather  readers,  among 
that  very  numerous  class  of  the  pubUc,  who,  through  an 
inconstancy  ciruetly  rooted  in  the  human  heart,  love  to  see 
those  humbled  whom  even  they  esteem  the  most.     But 
whatever  favour  and  encouragement  so  general  a  dispo- 
sition might  promise  Boileslu,  he  could  not  avoid  meeting 
with  censurers  among  men  of  worth*     Of  this  number  was 
the  duke  de  Montaifsier,:  who  valued  himself  upon  an  in- 
flexible and  rigorous  virtue,  d.nd  disliked  satire*     But,  as 
it  was  of  the  greatest  importance  to  Boileau  to  gain  over 
to  bis  interest  one  of  the  first  persons  about  court,  whose 
credit  was  the  more  formidable^  as  it  was  supported  by 
that  personal  consideration  which  is  not  always  joined. to' 
it,  he  introduced  into  one  of  his  pieces  a  pai>iegyrical  no- 
tice of  the  duke  de  Montausier,  which  was  neither  flat  nor 
exaggerated,  and  it  produced  the  desired  effect.     Encou- 
raged by  this  first  success,  Boileau  lost  no  time  in  giving 
the  final  blow  to  the  tottering  austerity  of  his  oensurer, 
by  confessing  to  him,  with  an  air  of  contrition,  how  hu- 
miliated he  felt  himself  at  missing  the  friendship  of  "  tlie 
worthiest  man  at  court."    From  that  moment,  the  wor- 


B  O  I  L  E  A  U.  * 

thiest  mail  dt  court  becstme  the  protector  and  apologist 
of  the   most  caustic  of  all  writers.     Though  we  attach 
less  value  to  the  satires  of  Boileau   than    to  his  other 
works,  and  think  not  very  highly  of  his  conduct  to   his 
patron,  yet  it  must  be  allowed  that  he  never  attacks  bad 
taste  and  bad  writers/  but  with  the  weapons  of  pleasantry ; 
and  never  speaks  of  vice  and  wicked  men  but  with  indig- 
nation.    Boileau,  however,  soon  became  sensible  that  in 
order  to  reach  posterity  it  is  not  suf&cient  to  supply  some 
ephemeral  food   to  the  malignity  of  contemporaries,  but 
to  be  the  writer  of  all  times  and  all  places.     This  led  him 
to  produce  those  works  which  will  render  his  fame  per- 
petual.    He  wrote  his  "  Epistles,"  in  which,  with  delicate . 
praises,  he  has  intermixed  precepts  of  literature  and  mo- 
rality, delivered  with  the  most  striking  truth  and  the  hap« 
piest  precision ;  and  in  1674  his  celebrated  mock-heroic,  the 
^^  Lutrin,''  which,  with  so  small  a  ground  of  matter,  contains 
so  much  variety,  action,  and  grac^ ;  and  his  "  Art  of  Poetry," 
which   is  in  French  what  that  of  Horace  is  in  Latin,  the 
code  of  good  taste.     In  these  be  expresses  in  harmonious 
verse,    full  of  strength  and  elegance,   the  principles  of 
reasoQ  and  good  taste.;  and  was  the  first  who  discovered 
and  developed,  by  the  union  of  example  to  precept,  the 
highly  difficult  art  of  French  versification.     Before  Boi- 
leau, indeed,  Malherbe  had  begun  to  detect  the  secret, 
but  he  had  guessed  it  only  iu  part,  and  had  kept  his  know- 
ledge for  his  own  use ;  and  Corneille,  though  he  had  writ- 
ten "  Cinna"  and  "  Polieucte,"  had  no  other  secret  than 
his  instinct,  aiid  when  this  abandoned  him,  was  no  longer 
Corneille.     Boileau  had  the  rare  merit,  which  can  belong 
only  to  a  superior  genius,  of  forming  by  his  lessons  and 
productions  the  first  school  of  poetry  in  France ;  and  it 
may  be  added,  that  of  all  the  poets  whp  have  preceded 
or  followed  him,  none  was  better  calculated  than  himself 
to  be  the  head  of  such  a  school.     In  fact,  the  severe  and 
decided  correctness  which  characterizes  his  works,  renders 
them  singularly  fit  to  serve  as  a  study  for  scholars  in  poetry. 
In  Racine  he  had  a  disciple  who  would  have  secured  him 
immortality,  even  if  he  had  not  so  well  earned  it  by  his 
ovyn  writings.     Good  judges  have  even  asserted,  that  the 
pupil  surpassed  the  master;  but  Boileaa,  whether  inferior 
or  equal  to  his  scholar,  always  preserved  that  ascendancy 
over  him,  which  a  blunt  and  downright  self-love  will  ever 
assuttt^  over  a  timid  and  delicate  self-love,  such  as  that  of 


6  B  O  I  L  E  A  0. 

Racine.  The  author  of  «  Phsedra''  and  of  "  Athaliah** 
had  always,  either  from  deference  or  address,  the  com- 
plaisance to  yield  the  first  place  to  one  who  boasted  of 
having  been  his  master.  Boileau,  it  is  true,  had  a  merit 
with  respect  to  his  disciple,  which  in  the  eyes  of  the  latter 
must  have  been  of  istestimable  value,  that  of  having  early 
been  sensible  of  Racine^s  excellence;  or  rather  of  what  he 
promised  to  become ;  for  it  was  not  easy^  in  the  author  of 
the  "  Freres  Ennemis,' •  to  discover  that  of  "  Andromache'* 
und  "  Britannicus,''  and  doubtless  perceiving  in  Racine's 
first  essays  the  germ  of  what  he  was  one  day  to  become, 
he  felt  how  much  care  and  culture  it  required  to  give  it 
^  full  expansion. 

Boileau  knew  how  to  procure  a  still  more  powerful  pro- 
tection at  court  than  the  duke  de  Montausier's,  that  of 
Lewis  XIV.  himself.  He  lavished  upon  this  monarch 
praises  the  more  flattering,  as  they  appeared  dictated  by 
the  public  voice,  and  merely  the  sincere  and  warm  ex- 
pression of  the  nation's  intoxication  with  respect  to  its 
king.  To  add  value  to  his  homage,  the  artful  satirist  had 
the  address  to  make  his  advantage  of  the  reputation  of 
frankness  he  had  acquired,  which  served  as  a  passport  to 
those  applauses  which  the  poet  seemed  to  bestow  in  spite 
*of  his  nature ;  and  he  was  particularly  attentive,  while  be- 
stowing praises  on  all  those  whose  interest  might  either 
support  or  injure  him,  to  reserve  the  first  place,  beyond 
comparison,,  for  the  monarch.  Among  other  instances, 
he  valued  himself,  as  upon  a  great  stroke  of  policy,  for 
having  contrived  to  plaoe  Monsieur,  the  king's  brother, 
by  the  side  of  the  king  himself,  in  his  verses,  v<^ithout  ha- 
zard of  wounding  the  jealousy  of  majesty  ;  and  for  having 
celebrated  the  conqueror  of  Cassel  more  feebly  than  the 
subduer  of  Flanders.  He  had  however  the  art,  or  more 
properly  the  merit,  along  with  bis  inundation  of  praises, 
to  convey  some  useful  lessons  to  the  sovereign.  Lewis 
XIV.  as  yet  young  and  greedy  of  renown,  which  he  mis- 
took for  real  glory,  was  making  preparations  for  war  with 
Holland.  Colbert,  who  knew  how  fatal  to  the  people  is 
the  most  glorious  war,  wished  to  divert  the  kitig  from  his 
design.  He  engaged  Boileau  to  second  his  persuasions, 
\>y  addressing  to  Lewis  his  first  epistle,  in  which  he  proves 
th^t  a  king's  true  greatness  consists  in  rendering  his  sub- 
jects happy,  by  securing  them  the  blessings  of  peace.  But 
^tl^ougb  this  epistle  did  not  answer  the  intentions  of  the 


B  O  I  L  E  A  U.  7 

nuiQister  or  the  poet,  yet  so  much  attention  to  please  the 
monanchy  joined  to  such  excellence,  did  not  remain  unre- 
conipensed.     Boileau  was  loaded  with  the  king^s  favour, 
admitted  at  court,  and  named,  in  conjunction  with  Racine, 
Foyal  historiographer.     The  two  poets  seemed  closely  oc- 
cupied in  writing  the  history  of  their  patron ;  they  even 
read  several  passages  of  it  to  the  king ;  hut  they  abstained 
from  giving  any  of  it  to  the  public,  in  the  persuasion  that 
the  history  of  sovereigns,  even  the  most  worthy  of  eulogy, 
cannot  be  written  during  their  lives,  without  running  the  risk 
either  of  losing  reputation  by  flattery,  or  incurring  hazard 
by  truth.     It  was  with  repugnance  that  Boileau  had  un- 
dertaken an  office  so  little  suited  to  his  talents  and  his 
taste.     "  When  I  exercised,"  said  he,  "  the  trade  of  a 
satirist,  which  I  understood  pretty  well,  I  was  overwhelmed 
with  ipsults  and  menaces,  and  I  am  now  dearly  paid  for 
exercising  that  of  historiographer,  which  I  do  not  under- 
stand at  all."     Indeed,  far  from  behig  dazzled  by  the  fa« 
TOur  he  enjoyed,  he  rather  felt  it  as  an  incumbrance.     He 
often  said,  that  the  first  sensation  hi&  fortune  at  court  in- 
.  spired  in  him,  was  a  feeling  of  melancholy.     He  thought 
the  bounty  of  his  sovereign  purchased  too  dearly  by  the 
loss  of  liberty-*-a  blessing  so  intrinsically  valuable,  which 
^l  the  empty  and  fugitive  enjoyments  of  vanity  are  un- 
able to  eompensate  in  the  eyes  of  a  philosopher.     Boileau 
endeavoured  by  degrees  to  recover  this  darling  liberty,  in 
proportion  as  age  seemed  to  permit  the  attempt ;  and  for 
the  last  ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  life  he  entirely  dropped 
his' visits  to  court     '^  What  should  I  do  there?"  said  he, 
*^  I  can   praise  no  longer."     He  might,   however,    have 
found  as  much  matter  for  his  applauses  as  when  he  lavished 
them  without  the  least  reserve.     While  he  attended  at 
court,  lie  maintained  a  freedom  and  frankness  of  speech, 
especially  on  topics  of  literature,  which  are  not  common 
among  courtiers.     When  Lewis  asked  his  opinion  of  some 
verses   which   he  had   written,    be   replied,    "  Nothing, 
sire,  is  impossible  to  your  majesty;  you  wished  to  make 
bad  verses,    and   you  have  succeeded."      He    also   took 
part  with  the  persecuted  members  of  the  Port- royal ;  and 
when   one   of  the  courtiers  declared  that   the  king  was 
making  diligent  search  after  the  celebrated  Arnauld,  in 
order  to  pu(  him  in  the  Bastile,  Boileau  observed,  **  His 
majesty  ift«too  fortunate ;  be  will  not  find  him  :"  and  when 
tlie  king  asked  bim^  what  was  the  reason  why  the  whole 


S  B  O  I  LE  A  U, 

Tsirorld  was  running  after  a  preacher  named  le  Tournenx,  a 
disciple  of  Arnauld,  "  Your  majesty,"  he  replied,  ^*  knows 
how  fond  people  are  of  novelty  : — :this  is  a  minister  who 
preaches  the  gospel."  Boiieau  appears  from  various  cir- 
cumstances, to  have  been  no  great  friend  to  the  Jesuits, 
whom  he  offended  by  his  "  Epistle  on  the  Love  of  God," 
and. by  many  free  speeches.  By  royal  favour,  he  was  ad- 
mitted unaiiimously,  in  1684,  into  the  French  academy, 
with  which  he  had  made  very  free  in  his  epigrams ;  and 
he  was  also  associated  to  the  new  academy  of  inscriptions 
9nd  belles-lettres,  of  which  he  appeared  to  be  a  fit  mem- 
ber, by  his  "  Translation  of  Longinus  on  the  Sublime." 
To  science,  with  which  he  had  little  acquaintance^^  he 
rendered,  however,  important  service  by  his  burlesque 
**  Arret  in  favour  of  the  university,  against  an.  unknown 
personage  called  Reason,"  which  was  the  means  of  pre- 
venting the  establishment  of  a  plan  of  intolerance  in  mat- 
ters of  philosophy.  His  attachment  to  the  ancients,  as 
the  true  models  of  literary  taste  and  excellence,  occasioned 
a  controversy  between  him  and  Perrault  concerning  the 
comparative  merit  of  the  ancients  and  moderns,  which, was 
prosecuted  for  some  time  by  epigrams  and  mutual  re* 
preaches,  till  at  length  the  public  begaa  to  be  tired  with 
their  disputes,  and  a  reconciliation  was  effected  by  the 
good  offices  of  their  common  friends.  This  controversy 
laid  the  foundation  of  a  lasting  enmity  between  Boiieau 
and  Fontenelle,  who  inclined  to  the  party  of  Perrault. 
Boiieau,  however,  did  not  maintain  his  opinion  with  the 
pedantic  extravagance  of  the  Daciers  ;  but  he  happily 
exercised  his  wit  on  the  misrepresentations  of  the  noted 
characters  of  antiquity,  by  the  fashionable  romances  of  the 
time,  in  his  dialogue  entitled  "  The  Heroes  of  Romance," 
composed  in  the  manner  of  Lucian.  In  opposition  to  the 
absurd  opinions  of  father  Herdouin,  that  most  of  the  clas- 
sical productions  of  ancient  Rome  bad  been  written  by  the 
monks  of  the  thirteenth  century,  Boiieau  pleasantly  re- 
marks, ^<  I  know  nothing  of  all  that ;  but  though  I  am  not 
very  partial  to  the  monks,  I  should  not  have  been  sorry 
to  have  lived  with  friar  Tibullus,  friar  Juvenal,  Dom  Vir- 
gil, Dom  Cicero,  and  such  kind  of  folk."  After  the  death 
of  Racine,  Boiieau  very  much  retired  from  court;  induced 
partly  by  bis  love  of  liberty  and  independence,  and  partly 
by  his  dislike,  of  that  adulation  which  was  expected,  an4' 
for  which  the  close  of  Lewis's  reign  afforded  oiorer  scanty 


BO  ILEA  U.  » 

materials  than  its  cotnmencement.  Sepai^ted  in  a  great 
<}agree  from  spciety,  be  indulged  that  austere  and  misan^^ 
thrppical  dispositiou^  from  which  he  was  never  wholly 
exempt.  His  conversation,  however,  was  more  mild  and 
gentle  than  his  writings ;  and,  as  he  used  to  say  of  him- 
self, without  "  nails  or  claws,"  it  was  enlivened  by  occa- 
sional sallies  pf  pieasantry,  and  rendered  instructive  by 
judicious  opiniQns  of  autboifs  and  their  works.  He  was  re- 
ligious without  bigotry ;  and  he  abhorred  fanaticism  and 
liypocrisy.  His  circumstances  ^were  easy ;  and  his  pru- 
dent economy  has  been  charged  by  some  with  degenerating 
into  avarice.  Instances,  however,  occur  of  bis  liberality 
and  beneficence.  At  the  death  of  Colbert,  the  pension 
wbiqh  he  had  given  to  the  poet  Corneille  was  suppressed, 
though  he  was  poor,  old,  infirm,  and  dyings  Boileaii  in- 
terceded with  the  king  for  the  restoration  of  it,  and  offered 
to  transfer  his  own  to  Corneille,  telling  the  monarch  that 
he  should  be  ashamed  to  receive  his  bounty  while  such  a 
man  was  in  want  of  it.  He  also  bought,  at  an  advanced 
price,  the  library  of  Patru,  reduced  in  his  circumstances, 
and  left  him  in  the  possession  of  it  till  his  death.  He  gave  to 
the  poor  all  the  revenues  he  had  received  for  eight  years 
from  a  benefice  he  had  enjoyed  without  performing  the 
duties  of  it.  To  indigent  men  of  letters  his  purse  was 
s^ways  open ;  and  at  his  death  he  bequeathed  almost  all 
his  possessions  to  the^  poor.  Up&n  the  whole,  his  tepciper, 
tbough  naturally  austere,  was  on  many  occasions  kind  and 
benevolent,  so  that  it  has  been  said  of  him,  that  he  was 
**  cruel  only  in  verse ;"  and  his  general  character  was 
distinguished  by  worth  and  integrity,  with  some  alloys  of 
literary  jealousy  and  injustice.  Boileau  died  of  a  dropsy 
in  the  breast,  March  U,  1711,  and  by  Us  will  left  almost 
all  bis  property  to  the,  poor.  His  funeral  was  attended  by 
a  very  numerous  company,  which  gave  a  woman  of  the 
lower  cla/5s  occasion  to  say,  ^'  He  had  many  friends  then! 
yet  they  say  t;h?it  he  spoke  ill  of  every  body." 

Boileau's  character  as  a  poet  is  now  generally  allowed 
to  he  that  of  taste,  judgment,  and  good  sense,  which  pre- 
dominate in  the  best  of  his  works  as  they  do  in  the  most 
fiopulav  of  Pope's  writings.  The  reseniblance  between 
tjsese,  two  poets  is. in  many  respects  very  striking,  and  in 
one  respect  continues  to  be  so ;  they  are,  in  France  and 
England,  mote  read  and  oftener  quoted  than  any  other 
poets.     Both  were  accused  of  stealing  from  the  ancients ; 


10  '  B  O  I  L  E  A  a 

but  says  an  elegant  critic  of  our  nation,  those  who  flat- 
tered themselves  that  they  should  diminish  the  reputation 
of  Boileau,  by  printing,  in  the  manner  of  a  commentary 
at  the  bottom  of  each  page  of  his  works,  the  many  lines  he 
has  borrowed  from  Horace  and  Juvenal,  were  grossly  de- 
ceived.    The  verses  of  the  ancients  which  he  has  turned 
into  French  with  so  much  address,  and  which  he  has  hap- 
pily made  so  homogeneous,  and  of  a  piece  with  the  rest  of 
the  work,  that  every  thing  seems  to  have  been  conceived 
in  a  continued  train  of  thought  by  the  very  same  person^ 
confer  as  much  honour  on  him,  as  the  verses  which  are 
purely  his  own.     The  original  turn  which  he  gives  to  his 
translations,  the  boldness  of  his  expressions,  so  little  forced 
and  unnatural,  that  they  seem  to  be  born,  as  it  were,  with 
his  thoughts,  display  almost  as  much  invention  as  the  first 
production  of  a  thought  entirely  new.  '  The;same  critic, 
Dr.  Warton,  is  of  opinion  that  Boileau's  **  Art  of  Poetry** 
is  the  best  composition  of  that  kind  extant.     *^  The  brevity 
of  his  precepts,"  says  this  writer,  "  enlivened  by  proper 
imagery,  the  justness  of  his  metaphors,  the  harmony  of 
his  numbers,  as  far  as  alexandrine  lines  will  admit,  the 
exactness  of  his  method,  the  perspicuity  of  his  remarks, 
and  the  energy  of  his  style,  all  duly  considered,  may  ren-* 
der  this  opinion  not  unreasonable.     It  is  to  this  work  he 
owes  his  immortality,  which  was  of  the  highest  utility  to 
his  nation,  in  diffusing  a  just  way  of  thinking  and  writings 
banishing  every  species  of  false  wit,  and  introducing   a 
general  taste  for  the  manly  simplicity  of  the  ancients,  on 
whose  writ^ings  this  poet  had  formed  his  taste.^' 

Of  the  numerous  editions  of  Boileau^s  works,  the  best 
are,  that  of  Geneva,  1716,  2  vols.  4to,  with  illustrations 
by  Brossette  ;  that  of  the  Hague,  with  Picart's  cuts,  1718, 
2  vols.  fol.  and  1722,  4  vols.  12mo;  that  by  Allix,  with 
Coohin's  cuts,  1740,  2  vols.  4to;  that  of  Durand,  1745, 
5  vols.  8vo ;  and  lastly,  a  beautiful  edition  in  3  vols.  8vo. 
or  3  vols.  12mo,  Paris,  1809,  with  notes  by  Daunou,  a 
member  of  the  Institute.  * 

BOILEAU  (James),  one  of  the  brothers  of  the  prece- 
ding,' a  doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  was  born  in  1635,  studied 
in  the  university  of  Paris,  took  his  degree  of  doctor  in 
theology  in  1662,  was  appointed  dean  of  Sens,  and  vicar 

1  D'Alembert's  Eulogies  translated  by  AiKin^i  2  Tolt.  8YQ.->*GeQ.  Dict-^War"' 
ten's  Essay  on  Pope,  ^c,> 


B  O  I  L  E  A  U.  11 

of  the  archbishop  Gondoin,  in  1667;  and  in  1694,  was 
presented  by  the  king  with  a  canonry  in  the  liqly  chapel  of 
Paris.  He  died  dean  of  the  faculty  of  theology  in  17 16, 
He  is  well  known  by  a  number  of  works  in  a  peculiar  style, 
some  of  which  were  not  remarkable  for  decency ;  but  these 
be  wrote  in  Latin,  ^^  lest  the  bishops/'  he  said,  ^^  should 
condemn  them.''  He  was  not  more  a  fciend  to  the  Jesuits 
than  his  brother ;  and  he  described  them  as  ^^  men  who 
lengthened  the  creed,  and  shortened  the  commandipents.'* 
As  dean  of  the  chapter  of  Sens,  he  was  appointed  to 
harangue  the  celebrated  prince  of  Cond6,  when  he  passed 
through  the  city.  This  great  commander  took  particular 
pleasure  on  these  occasions  in  disconcerting  bis  panegy^ 
rists ;  but  the  doctor,  perceiving  his  intention,  counter- 
feited great  confusion,  and  addressed  him  in  the  following 
manner :  "  Your  highness  will  not  be  surprised,  I  trust, 
at  seeing  roe  tremble  in  your  presence  at  the  head  of  a 
company  of  peaceful  priests ;  I  should  tremble  still  more, 
if  I  was  at  the  head  of  30,000  soldiers."  He  manifested  a 
contempt  of  fanaticism,  as  well  as  of  decorum,  by  bis 
*^  Historia  Flagellantium,  &c."  or,  an  account  of  the  ex- 
travagant, and  often  indecent,  practice  of  discipline  by 
flagellation,  in  the  popish  church.  It  was  translated 
into  French  ;  and  not  many  years  ago  {viz.  1777,  4to.  and 
s^in  in  1782,  Svo.)  by  M.  deXolme,  into  English.  In 
his  treatise  "  De  antiquo  jure  presbyterorum  in  regimine 
ecclesiastico,"  he  endeavours  to  shew,  that  in  the  primi- 
tive times  the  priests  participated  with  the  bishops  in  the 
government  of  the  church.  He  was  also  the  author  of  se- 
veral other  publications,  displaying  much  curious  learning 
and  a  satirical  turn,  which  are  now  consigned  to  oblivion.  . 

GiLLES,  the  eldest  brother  of  Qoileau  Despreaux,  was 
born  in  1631,  and  had  a  place  in  the  king's  household. 
He  was  a  man  of  wit  and  learning,  and  published  a  trans- 
lation of  Arrian's  Epictetus,  with  a  life  of  the  philosopher, 
Paris,  1655,  8vo.  He  also  published  a  translation  of  Dio- 
genes Laertius,  1668,  in  2  vols.  12mo;  and  two  disserta- 
tions against  Menage  and  Costar.  His  **  Posthumous 
Works"  were  published  in  1670.  He  also  wrote  verses, 
in  no  high  estimation.  ^ 

©OILEAU  (John  James),  canon  of  the  church  of  St. 
Honorg  at  Paris,  was  of  the  diocese  of  Agen,  in  which  he 

1  D'Alembert's  Eulogies  translated  by  Aikin,  2  ^Is.  Svo.— den.  Diot^-*War« 
Ion's  Essay  on  Pope^  &c.  and  Diet,  Hist, 


IS  B  O  I  L  E  A  U. 

enjoyed  a  curacy.  The  delicacy  of  his  constitution  hating 
obliged  him  to  quit  it,  he  repaired  to  Paris.  The  cardinal 
de  Noailles  afforded  him  many  marks  of  his  esteemr  He 
died  the  10th  of  March,  1735,  aged  86.  There  are  by 
him^  1.  Letters  on  various  subjects  of  morality  and  devo- 
tion, 2  vols.  12mo.  2.  The  life  of  the  duchess  of  Lian- 
court,  and  that  of  madame  Comb^,  superior  of  the  house 
of  the  Bon  Pasteur.  Ail  these  works  evince  a  fund  of 
^nse  and  good  sentinients ;  but  his  style  is  too  much  in- 
Hated.  * 

.  BOINDIN  (Nicholas),  born  at  Paris  in  1676,  the  son 
of  an  attorney  in  the  office  of  the  finances,  entered  into  the 
regiment  of  musqueteers  in  1696.  The  weakness  of  his 
constitution,  unable  to  resist  the  fatigues  of  the  service, 
obliged  him  to  lay  down  his  arms  and  take  to  his  studies. 
He  was  received  in  1706  into  the  academy  of  inscriptions 
and  belles-lettres,  and  would  have  been  of  the  French 
academy,  if  the  public  profession  he  made  of  atheism  had 
not  determined  his  exclusion.  He  was  affiicted  towards 
the  latter  end  of  his  days  with  a  fistula,  which  carried  him 
off  the  30th  of  Nov.  1751,  at  the  age  of  75.  He  was  de- 
nied the  honours  of  sepulture;  being  inhumed  the  day 
following  without  ceremony  at  three  o  clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. M.  Parfait  the  elder,  who  inherited  the  works  of 
Boindin,  gave  them  to  the  public  in  1753,  in  2  vols.  12mo. 
In  the  first  we  have  four  comedies  in  prose:  and  a  me- 
moir on  his  life  and  writings,  composed  by  himself.  This 
man,  who  plumed  himself  on  being  a  philosopher,  here 
gives  himself,  without  scruple,  all  the  praises  that  a  dull 
panegyrist  would  have  found  some  difficulty  in  affording 
him.  There  is  also  by  him  a  memoir,  very  circumstantial 
and  very  slanderous,  ii)  which  he  accuses,  after  a  lapse  of 
forty  years,  la  Motte,  Saurin,  and  Malaifaire  a  merchant, 
of  having  plotted  the  stratagem  that  caused  the  celebrated 
9nd  unhappy  Rousseau  to  be  condemned.  Boindin,  though 
an  atheist,  escaped  the  punishment  due  to  his  arrogance, 
because,  in  the  disputes  between  the  Jesuits  and  their  ad- 
versaries, he  used  frequently  to  declaim  in  the  coffee- 
bouses  against  the  latter.  M.  de  la  Place  relates,  that  he 
said  to  a  man  who  thought  like  him,  and  who  was  threat-* 
ened  for  his  opinions,  "  They  plague  yo*i,  because  you 
ure  a  Jansenistic  atheist;  but  th^y  let  me  alone,  because 

*  PLct.  Hist.— Morecw 


B  O  I  N  D  I  N.  It 

I  am  a  Molinhtlc  atheist/'  Not  that  be  incUned  more  to 
Molina  than  to  Janseuius ;  but  he  found  that  he  should  get 
more  by  speaking  in  behalf  of  those  that  were  then  Ul 
favoiir.  * 

BOIS  (Gerard  1>u),  of  the  Oratory,  a  native  of  Orleans^ 
was  bom  in  1629,  and  died  July  15,  1696.  He  succeeded 
father  le  Cointe  his  friend  in  the  place  of  librarian  to  the 
bouse  of  St.  HoDord,  and  inherited  his  papers,  which  were 
not  useless  in  bis  hands.  He  revised  the  eighth  volume  of 
the  '^  Ecclesiastical  Annals  of  France,"  and  published  it  ia 
1683.  This  work  procured  him  a  pension  of  a  thousand 
livres  granted  him  by  the  clergy.  He  afterwards  under-^ 
took,  at  the  entreaty  of  Harlay,  archbishop  of  Paris,  the 
Hiistory,of  that  church;  1690,  2  vols,  folio.  The  second 
did  not  appear  till  eight  years  after  his  death,  by  the  cars 
of  father  de  la  Rippe,  and  father  Desmolets  of  the  oratory^ 
He  frequently  mingles  civil  with  ecclesiastical  history,  and 
these  digressions  hare  lengthened  his  work ;  but  they  have 
also  diversified  it.  The  dissertations  with  which  he  has 
accompanied  it  evince  great  sagacity  in  discerning  what  i% 
true  from  what  is  false.  His  history  is  written  in  Latin^ 
and  the  style  is  pure  and  elegant. ' 

BOIS.     See  DUBOIS— and  BOYS  or  BOY8E. 

BOISROBERT  (FRAN501S  Metel  de),  of  the  French 
academy,  to  the  establishment  whereof  he  contributed 
greatly,  abbot  of  Chatilly-sur- Seine,  was  born  at  Caen  ill 
1592,  and  died  in  1662.  He  was  remarkably  brilliant  in 
conversation,  but  with  his  natural  and  borrowed  powers^ 
often  repeating  scraps  from  many  of  the  tales  of  Boc- 
cace,  of  Beroald,  and  especially  the  "  Moyen  de  parvenit'* 
of  the  latter.  His  imagination,  fostered  early  by  the 
writings  of  all  the  facetious  authors,  furnished  him  with  the 
means  of  amusing  and  of  exciting  laughter.  Citois,  first 
physician  to  the  cardinal  de  Richelieu,  used  to  say  to  that 
minister,  when  he  was  indisposed,  <^  Monseigneur,  all  our 
drugs  are  off  no  avail,  unless  you  mix  with  them  a  dram  of 
Boisrobert."  The  cardinal  for  a  long  time  was  never 
happy  without  his  company  and  jokes, .  and  employed  him 
as  his  buifoon^  When  Boisrobert  fell  into  disgrace  with 
the  cardinal,  he  had  recourse  to  Citois,  who  put  at  the 
bottom  of  his  paper  to  the  cardinal,  as  if  it  had  been  a  pre« 
scription.  Recipe  BoisaaBERT.    This  jest  had  its  effect, 

^  Dict«  Hist.  s  Kox&'u-^UcX.  ai8U-a>upin.---Nk}emi. 


1*  BOISROBERT. 

by  causing  him  to  be  recalled. — Boisrobert  pubtisbed^ 
1.  Divers  poems ;  the  first  part  1647,  4to,  and  the  second 
1659,  8vo.  2.  Letters  in  the  collection  of  Faret;  8vo* 
3.  Tragedies,  comedies,  and  tales,  which  bear  the  name 
of  his  brother  Antoine  le  Metel,  sieur  d'Ouville.  4.  "  His- 
toire  Indienne  d^Anasandre  et  d'Orasie;"  1629,  8vo. 
5.  "  Nouvelles  h^roiques,"  1627,  8vo.  His  theatrical 
pieces,  applauded  by  cardinal  Richelieu  and  by  some  of 
his  flatterers,  are  now  totally  forgot.  All  his  friends,  in- 
deed, were  not  flatterers,  if  the  following  anecdote  may  be 
relied  on.  Boisrobert,  among  his  other  follies,  was  a 
gamester,  and  on  one  occasion  lost  ten  thousand  crowns  to 
the  duke  de  Roquelaure,  who  loved  money,  and  insisted 
upon  being  paid.  Boisrobert  sold  all  he  had,  which 
amounted  to  four  thousand  crowns,  which  one  of  his  friends 
carried  to  the  duke,  telling  him,  he  must  forgive  the  rest, 
and  that  Boisrobert,  in  return,  would  compose  a  panegy- 
rical ode  upon  him,  which  would  certainly  be  a  bad  one* 
**  Now,"  added  this  friend,  "  when  it  is  known  that  your 
grace  has  rewarded  a  paltry  piece  with  six  thousand  crowns, 
every  one  will  applaud  your  generosity,  and  will  be  anxious 
to  know  what  you  would  have  given  for  a  good  poem.'* 
It  is  most  to  his  honour,  however,  that  he  contributed  to 
the  establishment  of  the  French  academy,  and  always  em- 
ployed his  interest  with  cardinal  Richelieu  in  behalf  of  men 
of  merit.  * 

BOISSARD  (John  James),  a  famous  French  antiquary, 
was  born  at  Besangon,  1528,  and  published  several  collec- 
tions, which  tend  to  illustrate  the  Roman  antiquities,  on 
which  he  had  bestowed  great  attention,  having  drawn  plans 
of  all  the  ancient  monuments  in  Italy,  and  visited  all  the 
antiquities  of  the  isles  of  Corfu,  Cephalonia,  and  Zaute. 
He  went  also  to  the  Morea,  and  would  have  proceeded  to 
Syria,  had  he  not  been  prevented  by  a  dangerous  fever, 
which  seized  him  at  Methone.  Upon  his  return  to  his  own 
country,  he  was  appointed  tutor  to  the  sous  of  Anthony  de 
Vienne,  baron  de  Clervaut,  with  whom  he  travelled  into 
Germany  and  Italy.  He  had  left  at  Montbeliard  bis  anti- 
quities, which  he  had  been  collecting  with  so  much  pains ; 
and  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  them  all  when  the  people 
of  Lorraine  ravaged  Franche  Comt6.  He  had  now  none 
left  except  those  which  he  had  transported  to  Metz,  where 

^  Mo»ri«— Diet.  Hist.— Biog.  Gallica,  vol.  1.— BaiUet  Jugemens  de  SavaQS» 


BOISSARD.  1$ 

he  himself  bad  retired ;  but  as  it  was  well  known  that  be 
intended  to  publish  a  large  collection  of  antiquities,  there 
were  sent  to  him  from  all  parts  many  sketches  and  draughts 
of  old  monuments^  by  which  means  he  was  enabled  to  fa- 
vour the  public  with  his  work,  entitled^  ^^  De  Romans^ 
urbis  topographia  et  antiquitate."  It  consists  -of  four  vo- 
lumes in  folio,  which  are  enriched  with  several  prints,  by 
Theodore  de  Bry  and  his  sons,  1 597-— 1602.  He  pub- 
lished also  the  lives  of  many  famous  persons,  with  their 
portraits,  entitled,  <^  Theatrum  vitae  humauae,"  divided  into 
four  parts,  in  4to:  the  first  printed  at  Francfort,  1597; 
the  second  and  third  in  1598;  and  the  fourth  in  1599. 
His  treatise,  ^^  De  divinatione  et  magicis  prsestigiis,''  was 
not  printed  till  after  his  death,  which  happened  at  Metz, 
Oct.  30,  1602.  There  have  been  two  editions  of  it:  one 
at  Hainan  in  1611,  4to;  another  at  Oppenheim  in  1625, 
folio.  He  wrote  also  a  book  of ''  Emblems,^'  with  de  Bry's 
engravings,  Francfort;  1595,  4to;  '^Parnassus  Biceps,'* 
ibid,  1627,  fol.  a  very  rare  book  ;  and  ^^  Habitus  variarum 
orbis  gentium,''  1581,  fol.  with  plates.  He  published  also 
some  *' Poemata,  Epigrammata,  &c.".  157^,  16m6;  but 
these  are  not  so  much  esteemed  as  his.  other  performances. 
His  adventure  in  a  garden  of  cardinal  Carpi  at  Rome, 
shews  him  a  genuine  antiquary.  This  garden  was  fuir  of 
ancient  marbles,  and  situated  on  the  Mons  Quirinalis, 
Boissard  went  thither  one  day  with  his  friends,  and  imme- 
diately parted  from  them,  let  them  return  home,  and  con- 
cealed himself  in  some  of  the  alleys.  He  employed  the 
rest  of  the  day  in  copying  inscriptions  and  drawing  the 
monuments ;  and  as  the  garden  gates  were  shut,  he  staid^ 
there  all  night.  The  next  morning,  the  cardinal,  finding 
him  at  this  work,  could  not  imagine  how  a  stranger  should 
get  into  his  garden  at  an  unseasonable  hour ;  but  when  he 
knew  the  reason  of  Boissard's  staying  there  all  night,  he 
ordered  him  .a  good  breakfast,  and  gave  him  leave  to 
copy  and  draw  whfktsoever  he  should  think  curious  in  his 
palace.  ^ 

BOISSI  (Louis  de),  a  celebrated  French  comic  writer 
of  native  wit  and  g^ni^ine  humour,  was:  born  at  Vic  in 
Auvergne  in  1694.  He  came  early  to  Paris,  and  began  to 
write  for  the  stage*  The  r^st  of  his  li£e  is  a  moral  As 
has  often  been  the  fate  of  e^xtraordinary  favourites  of  the 

*  Moreri — Diet  Hist.— Qeo.   Diet:— Baillet  J«if«m«ns  d«    SaT»ns,««-SaxU 
Oaamastiooii.  t.  ,     .    .. 


16         •  B  a  t  s  s  t 

mtiMi^y  though  he  kboured  incessantly  for  the  public,  hh 
works  procured  him  only  a  competency  of  fame — he 
wanted  bread,  and  while  the  theatres  and  coffee-houses  of 
Paris  were  ringing  with  plaudits  on  his  uncommon  talents 
to  promote  their  mirth^  he  was  languishing,  with  a  wife 
and  child,  under  the  pressures  of  the  extreftiest  poverty. 
Yety  melancholy  as  bis  situation  was,  he  lost  nothing  of 
that  pride,  which  forbid  him  to  creep  and  fawn  at  the  feet 
of  a  patron.  Boissi  had  friends,  who  would  readily  have 
relieved  him  ;  but  they  were  never  made  acquainted  with 
his  i*eal  condition,  or  had  not  that  friendly  impetuosity 
which  forces  assistance  on  the  modest  sufferer.  He  at 
length  became  the  prey  of  distress,  and  sunk  into  despon- 
dency. The  shortest  way  to  rid  bittiself  at  once  of  his 
load  of  misery  seemed  to  hifti  to  be  death,  on  which  hk 
speculated  with  the  despair  of  a  man  who  has  none  of  the 
consolations  of  religion.  His  wife,  who  was  no  less  weary 
of  life,  listened  with  participation  as  often  as  he  declaimed^ 
in  all  the  warmth  of  poetic  rapttire,  on  the  topic  of  deliver*- 
ance  from  this  earthly  prison,  and  the  smiling  prospects  of 
futurity ;  till  at  length  she  took  up  the  resolution  to  ac- 
company him  in  death.  But  she  could  not  bear  to  think 
of  leaving  her  beloved  son,  of  five  years  old,  in  a  world  of 
misery  and  sorrow ;  it  was  therefore  agreed  to  take  the 
child  along  with  them,  on  their  passage  into  another  and  a 
better,  and  they  made  choice  of  starving.  To  this  end, 
they  shut  themselves  up  in  their  solitary  and  deserted 
apartment,  vinaiting  their  dissolution  with  immovable  forti- 
tude. When  any  one  came  and  knocked,  they  fled  trem- 
bling into  a  corner,  for  f^ar  of  being  discovered.  Their, 
little  boy,  who  had  not  yet  Iciairned  to  silence  the  calls  of 
hunger  by  artificial  reasons,  whimpering  and  crying,  asked 
for  bread;  but  they  always  found  means  to  quiet  him.- 

It  occurred  to  one  of  Boissi's  friends,  that  it  was  very 
extraordinary  he  should  never  find  him  at  home.  At  first 
he  thought  the  family  had  changed  their  lodgings;  but,  ort 
assuring  himself  of  the  contrary,  he  began  to  be  alarmed. 
He  called  several  times  in  one  day,  and  at  last  burst  open 
the  door,  when  he  saw  his  friend,  with  his  wife  and  son, 
extended  on  the  bed,  pale  and  emaciated,  scarcely  able  to 
utter  a  sound  !  The  boy  lay  in  the  middle,  and  the  hus- 
band and  wife  had  their  arms  thrown  over  him.  Tlie  child 
stretched  out  his  little  hands  towards  his  deliverer^  and  his 
first  word  was — Bread  1     It  was  now  the  third  day  that  nol 


B  O  I  S  S  I.  17 

a  morsel  of  food  had  entered  his  lips.  The  parents  lay 
still  in  a  perfect  stupor  ;  they  had  never  heard  the  bursting' 
open  of  the  door,  and  felt  nothing  of  the  embraces  of  theifr 
agitated  friend.  Their  wasted  eyes  were  directed  towards 
the  boy ;  and  the  tenderest  expressions  of  pity  were  in  the 
look  with  which  they  had  last  beheld  him,  and  stili  saw 
him  dying.  Their  friend  hastened  to  take  measures  for 
their  recovery ;  but  could  not  succeed  without  difficulty. 
They  thought  themselves  already  far  from  the  troubles  of 
life,  and  were  terrified  at  being  suddenly  brought  back  to 
them.  Void  of  sense  and  reflection,  they  submitted  to  the 
attempts  that  were  made  to  recall  them  to  life.  At  length 
a  thought  occurred  to  their  friend,  which  happily  suc- 
ceeded. He  took  the  child  from  their  -  arms,  and  thus 
roused  the  last  spark  of  paternal  and  maternal  tenderness. 
He  gave  the  child  to  eat ;  who,  with  one  hand  held  his 
bread,  and  with  the  other  alternately  shook  his  father  and 
mother.  It  seemed  at  once  ta  rekindle  the  love  of  life  in 
their  hearts,  on  perceiving  that  the  child  had  left  the  bed 
and  their  embraces.  Nature  did  her  office.  Tiieir  friend 
procured  them  strengthening  broths,  which  he  put  to  their 
lips  with  the  utmost  caution,  and  did  not  leave  them  till 
every  symptom  of  restored  life  was  fully  visible. 

This  transaction  made  much  noise  in  Paris,  and  at  length 
reached  the  ears  of  the  marchioness  de  Pompadour.  Boissi's 
deplorable  situation  moved  her.  She  immediately  sent 
him  a  hundred  louis-d'ors,  and  soon  after  procured  him 
the  profitable  place  of  editor  of  the  Mercure  de  France, 
with  a  pension  for  his  wife  and  child,  if  they  outlived  him. 
— His  CEuvres  de  Theatre"  are  in  9  vols.  8vo.  His  Italian 
comedy,  in  which  path  he  is  the  author  of  numerous  pieces, 
has  not  the  merit  of  the  above.  His  early  satires,  of  which 
he  had  written  many,  being  remembered,  prevented  his 
admission  into  the  French  academy  till  he  was  sixty  years  of 
*ge,  though  he  was  well  entitled  to  that  honour,  by  his 
labours  and  talents,  twenty  years  sooner.  He  died  April, 
1658,  complaining  in  his  last  moments,  that  his  misery 
was  not  shortened  by  an  earlier  death,  or  his  felicity  ex- 
tended by  longevity,  * 

BOIVIN  (Fkancisde),  baron  of  Villars,  bailifof  Gex, 
in  which  offiice  he  was  living  in   1618,  maitre  d^hotel  to 

^  Diet.  Hist. — D*Aiembert'8  Hist,  of  the  Members  of  the  French  Academy.-— 
Cbaufepie. — ^Hidtory  of  the  Mftrchiouess  de  Pomptadour,  Part  III.  Lond.  l^mo. 
1760. 

You  VI.  C 


IS  B  O  I  V  I  N. 

queea  dowager  Loaisa  of  France,  was  also  secretary  to  the 
nmrechal  de  Brissac,  and  accompanied  him  into  Pi^monrt 
under  Henfy  II.  We  have  by  him,  "L'Histoire  des  Guerre* 
de  Pi^mont,  depuis  1550  jusqu'en  1561  ;'•' Paris,  1607, 
4to,  and  8vo.  This  historian  is  neither  elegant  nor  accu-* 
rate  in  general ;  but  he  may  be  consulted  with  safety  on 
the  exploits  that  passed  under  his  own  observation.  Boi- 
vin  died  very  old,  but  at  what  time  is  not  kiwwn. '  His. 
History,  continued  by  CI.  Malinger,  appeared  in  1630, 
2  vols.  8vo.  * 

BOIVIN  (John),  professor  of  Greek  in  the  royal  col- 
lege of  Paris,  was  born  at  Montreuil  TArgil^,  in  Upper 
Normandy.  Being  sent  for  to  Paris  by  his  elder  brother, 
young  Boiviu  soon  made  great  progress  in  literature,  ia 
the  languages,  and  especially  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
Greek.  He  died  October  29,  1726,  aged  64,  member  of 
the  French  academy^  and  of  that  of  belles  lettres,  and 
keeper  of  the  king's  library.  He  profited  by  this  literary 
treasure,  by  drawing  from  it  a  variety  of  information,  and 
to  a  great  extent  In  his  private  character  he  was  of 
gentle  manners,  and  truly  amiable.  He  wrote,  1.  "  The 
Apology  for  Homer,  and  the  Shield  of  Achilles,  in  12mo. 

2.  Translation  of  the  Batrachomyomachia  of  Homer  into 
French  verse,  under  his  name  Latinised  into  Biberimero. 

3,  The  CEdipus  of  Sophocles,  and  the  Birds  of  Aristo- 
phanes, translated  into  French,  in  12mo.  4.  Pieces  of 
Greek  poetry.  5.  The  edition  of  the.  "  Mathematici  ve- 
teres,"  1693,  in  folio.  6.  A  Latin  life  of  Claude  le  Pele- 
tier,  in  4to,  written  in  a  style  rather  too  inflated.  7.  A 
translation  of  the  Byzantine  history  of  Nicephorus  Gre- 
goras,  correct,  elegant,  and  enriched,  with  a  curious  pre* 
face,  and  notes  replete  with  erudition.  ^ 

BOIVIN  (Louis),  brother  to  the  preceding,  a  distin- 
guished scholar  and  pensionary  of  the  academy  of  belles 
lettres,  was  born  at  Montreuil  TArgil^,  and  educated,  first 
under  the  Jesuits  at  Rouen,  and  afterwards  at  Paris,  where 
he  settled.  His  acquirements  in  literature  were  various 
and  extensive ;  but  his  temper,  according  to  his  own  ac- 
count, was  intractable  and  unsocial,  enterprising,  vain,  and 
versatile.  He  was  employed  by  several  eminent  magis- 
trates as  the  associate  and  director  of  their  private  studies ; 
but  the  litigiousness  of  his  disposition  involved  him  ia 

1  Moreri.<-Dict,  Hist  '  Ibid. 


H  0  lY  1  ij.  ^       19 

^reait  trouble  and  expeDce.  He  published  some  iearhed 
dissertations  on  historical  subjects,  in  the  ^*  Memoirs  of 
the  Academy  of  Belles  Lettres,"  and  made  great  progress 
towards  a  new  edition  of  Josephus,  He  died  in  1724,  aged 
75  years.  *  \  ,    . 

BOLD  (John),  a  pious  and  useful  clergyman  of  Leices« 
tershire,  was  born  at  Leicester  in  1679,  and  at  the  age  of  . 
fifteen  had  made  such  progress  in  letters  as  to  be  matricu-* 
lated  at  St  John's  college,  Cambridge.  Having  taken  the 
degree  of  B.  A.  in  1698,  he  retired  to  Hinckley  in  Leices-^ 
tershire,  where  he  engaged  in  teaching  a  small  endowed 
school,  and  retained  that  employment  until  1732,  at  the 
humble  salary  of  10/.  per  annum.  At  the  usual  age^  he 
was  admitted  into  holy  orders  to  serve  the  curacy  of  Stoney 
Stanton  near  Hinckley.  It  appears  from  the  parish  regis'* 
ter,  that  he  commenced  his  parochial  duties  in  May  1702  ; 
and  the  care  of  the  parish  was  confided  to  him,  his  rector 
then  residing  on  another  benefice.  His  stipend  was  only 
30/.  a  year,  as  the  living  was  a  small  one,  being  then  in  the 
open-field  state.  Nor  does  it  appear  that  he  had  made 
any  saving  in  money  from  the  profits  of  his  school — all  the 
property  he  seems  to  have  brought  with  him  to  his  curacy 
was,  his  chamber  furniture^  and  a  library,  more  valuable 
for  being  select  than  extensive.  When  Mr.  Bold  was  ex- 
amined for  orders,  his  diocesan  (Dr.  James  Gardiner, 
bishop  of  Lincoln)  was  so  much  pleased  with  hia  profi- 
ciency in  sacred  learning,  that  he  had  determined  to  make 
Mr.  Bold  his  domestic  chaplain  :  but  the  good  bishop's 
death  soon  after  closed  his  prospect  of  preferment  as  soon 
as  it  was  opened  in  that  quarter  ;  and  Mr.  Bold  framed  his 
plan  of  life  and  studies  upon  a  system  of  rigid  qecohomy 
and  strict  attentioa  to  his  professional  duties^  which  never 
varied  during  the  fifty  years  he  passed  afterwards  on  his 
curacy.  Remote  from  polished  and  literary  society,  which 
he  was  calculated  both  ^p  enjoy  and  to  adorn,  he  dili- 
gently performed  the  duties  of  an  able  and  orthodox 
divine;  a  good  writer;  an  excellent  preacher,  and  au 
attentive  parbh  priest.  He  appears,  from  the  early  age  of 
24  years,  to  have  formed  his  plan  of' making  himself  a 
living  sacrifice  for  the  benefit  of  his  flock;  and  to  have  de- 
clined preferment  (which  was  afterward  offered  to  him) 
with  a  view  of  making  his  example  and  doctrine  the  more 

I  Moreri,— Diet.  HUt. 
C  2  ' 


so      '  BOLD.. 

« 

striking  and  efFective,  by  his  permanent  residence  and  la- 
bours in  one  and  the  same  place.  He  appears  to  have  be«- 
gun  his  ecclesiastical  labours  in  a  spirit  of  self-denial, 
humility,  chari^,  and  piety.  He  had  talents  that  might 
have  rendered  him  conspicuous  any  where,  and  an  impres- 
sive and  correct  delivery.  His  life  was  severe  (so  far  as 
respected  himself) ;  his  studies  incessant ;  his  spiritual 
labours  for  the  church  and  his  flock,  ever  invariably  the 
same.  His  salary,  we  have  already  mentioned,  was  only 
30/.  a  year,  which  was  never  increased,  and  of  which  he 
paid  at  firsts/,  then  12/.  and  lastly  16/.  a  year,  for  his 
board.  It  needs  scarcely  be  said  that  the  most  rigid  oeco- 
nomy  was  requisite,  and  practised,  to  enable  him  to  sub- 
sist;  much  more  to  save  out  of  this  pittance  for  beneficent 
purposes^  Yet  he  continued  to  give  away  annually,  51. ; 
and  saved  5l.  more  with  a  view  to  more  permanent  chari- 
ties :  upon  the  rest  he  lived.  His  daily  fare  consisted  of 
water-gruel  for  his  breakfast ;  a  plate  from  the  farmer's 
table,  with  whom  he  boarded,  supplied  his  dinner ;  after 
dinner,  one  half  pint  of  ale,  of  his  own  brewing,  was  his 
only  luxury ;  he  took  no  tea,  and  his  supper  was  upon 
milk-pottage. '  With  this  slender  fare  bis  frame  was  sup- 
ported under  the  labour  of  his  various  parochial  duties.  In 
the  winter,  he  read  and  wrote  by  the  farmer's  fire-side ;  in 
the  summer,  in  his  own  room.  At  Midsummer,  be  bor- 
rowed a  horse  for  a  day  or  two,  to  pay  short  visits  beyond 
a  walking  distance.  He  visited  all  his  parishioners,  ex- 
horting, reproving,  consoling,  instructing  them. 

The  last  six  years  of  his  life  he  was  unable  to  ofEciate 
publicly;  and  was  obliged  to  obtain  assistance  from  the 
Rev.  Charles  Cooper,  a  clergyman  who  resided  in  the 
parish  on  a  small  patrimonial  property,  with  whom  he  di- 
vided his  salary,  making  up  the  deficiency  from  his  savings. 
Mr.  Bold's  previous  saving  of  5/.  annually,  for  the  pre- 
ceding four  or  five  and  forty  years  (and  that  always  put  out 
to  interest)  enabled  him  to  procure  this  assistance,  and  to 
continue  his  little  charities,  as  well  as  to  support  himself, 
though  the  price  of  boarding  was  just  doubled  upon  him 
from  his  first  entrance  on  the  cure,  from  8/.  to  1 6/.  a  year. 
But,  from  the  annual  saving  even  of  so  small  a  sum  as  5/. 
with  accumulating  interest  during  that  term,  he  not  only 
procured  assistance  for  the  last  years  of  his  life,  but 
actually  left  by  his  will  securities  for  the  payment  of  be- 
quests to  the  amount  of  between  two  and  three  hundred 


BOLD,  2t 

pouDcb:  of  which  100/.  was  bequeathed  to  some  of  his 
nearest  relatione;  100/.  to. the  farmer's  family  in  which  he 
died;  to  requite  their  attendance  in  his  latter  end,  and  with 
which  a  son  of  the  family  was  enabled  to  set  up  in  a  little 
farm ;  and  40/.  more  he  directed  to  be  placed  out  at  inte*- 
rest,  of  which  interest  one  half  is  paid  at  Christmas  to  the 
poorer  inhabitants  who  attend  at  church ;  and  the  other, 
for  a  sermon  once  a  year,  in  Lent,  <^  on  the  duty  of  the 
people  to  attend  to  the  instructions  of  the  minister  whom 
the  bishop  of  the  diocese  should  set  oyer  them/' 

This  very  singular  and  exemplary  clergyman,  whose 
character  it  is  impossible  to  contemplate  without  admira- 
tion, died  Oct.  29,  1751.  He  wrote  for  the  use  of  his 
parishioners  the  following  practical  tracts:  1,  ^<The  sin 
and  danger  of  neglecting  the  Public  Service  of  the  Church," 
1745,  8vo,  one  of  the  books  distributed  by  the  Society  for 
promoting  Christian  knowledge.  2.  *'  Religion  the  most 
delightful  employment,  &c."  3.  "  The  duty  of  worthily 
communicating.  ^ 

BOLEN,  or  BOLEYN  (Anne),  second  wife  of  king 
Henry  VIII.  was  born  in  1507.  She  was  daughter  of  sir 
Thomas  Bolen,  afterwards  earl  of  Wiltshire  and  Ormonde, 
by  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  Howard,  duke  of  Nor- 
folk. When  she  was  but  seven  years  of  age,  she  was  carried 
over  to  France  with  the  king's  sister  Mary,  who  was  mar- 
ried to  Lewis  XII.  And  though,  upon  the  French  king's 
death,  the  queen  dowager  returned-  to  England,  yet  Anne 
Bolen  was  so  highly  esteemed  at  the  court  of  France,  tha( 
Claude,  the  wife  of  Francis  L  retained  her  in  her  service 
for  some  years;  and  after  her  death  in  1524,  the  duchesR 
of  Alenzon^  the  king's  sister,  kept  her  in  her  court  during 
her  stay  in  that  kingdom.  It  is  probable,  that  she  returned 
from  thence  with  her  father,  from  bis  embassy  in  .1527  ;  and 
was  soon  preferred  to  the  place  of  maid  of  honour  to  the 
queen.  She  continued  without  the  least  imputation  upon 
her  character,  till  her  unfortunate  fall  gave  occasion  to 
some  malicious  writers  to  defame  her  in  all  the  parts  of  it. 
Upon  her  coming  to  the  English  court,  the.  lord  Percy, 
eldest  son  of  the  earl  of  Northumberland,  being  then  a 
domestic  of  cardinal  Wolsey,  made  his  addresses  to  her, 
and  proceeded  so  far,  as  to  engage  himself  to  marry  her ; 
and  her  consent  shews,  that  she  bad  then  no  aspirings  to 

>  Nichols'*  Hiit.  of  Leic©«ter|hire,  vol.  IV.  Part  IL 


e«  B  O  L  E  K. 

the  crown.  But  tlie  cardinal,  upon  some  private- reascni^ 
using  threats  and  other  methods,  with  great  diffictilty  put 
an  end  to  that  nobleman's  design.  It  was  probably  Sibout 
1528,  that  the  king  began  to  shew  some  favour  to  her, 
which  caused  many  to  believe,  that  the  whol^  process  with 
regard  to  his  divorce  from  queen  Catherine  was  moved  by 
.the  unseen  springs  of  that  secret  passion.  But  it  is  not  rea^ 
^onableto  imagine,  that  the  engagement  of  the  king's  affec- 
tion to  any  other  person  gave  the  rise  to  that  affair  ;  for  so 
sagacious  a  courtier  as  Wolsey  would  have  infallibly  dis- 
covered it,  and  not  haye  projected  a  marriage  with  the 
French  king's  sister,  as  he  did  not  long  before,  if  he  had 
seen  his  master  prepossessed.  The  supposition  is  much 
more  reasonable,  that  bis  majesty,  conceiving  himself  in  a 
manner  discharged  of  his  former  marriage,  gave  a  full 
liberty  to  his  affections,  which  began  to  settle  upon  Mrs. 
Bolen  ;  who,  in  September  1532,  was  created  marchioness 
of  Pembroke,  in  order  that  she  might  be  raised  by  degrees 
to  the  height  for  which  she  was  designed  ;  and  on  the  25th 
of  January  following  was  married  to  the  king,  the  office 
being  performed  by  Rowland  Lee,  afterwards  bishop  of 
Coventry  and  Licbtield,  with  great  privacy,  though  in  the 
presence  of  her  uncle  the  duke  of  Norfolk,  her  father, 
Inother,  and  brother.  On  the  1st  of  June,  1533,  she  was 
crowned  queen  of  England  with  such  pomp  and  solemnity, 
as  was  answerable  to  the  magnificence  of  his  majesty's 
temper ;  and  every  one  admired  her  conduct,  who  had  so 
long  managed  the*spirit  of  a  king  so  viqlpnt,  as  neither  to 
surfeit  him  with  too  much  fondness,  nor  to  provoke  with  too 
much  reserve.  Her  being  so  soon  with  child  gave  hopes  of 
a  numerous  issue ;  and  those^  who  loved  the  reformation^ 
entertained  the  greatest  hopes  from  her  protection,  as  they 
knew  she  favoured  them.  On  the  1 3th  or  14th  of  Septem- 
ber following,  she  brought  forth  a  daughter,  christened 
Elizabeth,  afterwards  the  renowned  queen  of  £nglandj| 
Cranmer,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  being  her  god-father. 
But  the  year  1536  proved  fatal  to  her  majesty  ;  and  her 
ruin  was  in  ail  probability  occasioned  by  those  who  began 
to  be  distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  Romish  party.  For 
the  king  now  proceeding  both  at  home  and  abroad  in  the 
point  of  reformation,  they  found  that  the  interest  which 
the  queen  had  in  him  was  the  grand  support  of  that  cause. 
She  had  risen,  not  only  in  his  esteem^  but  likewise  in  tHat 
pf  the  nation  in  'general ,  for  in  the  last  nine  months  of 


B  O  L  £  N.  SS 

lier  life,  she  gave  above  fourteen  thousand  pounds  to  the 
poor,  and  was  engaged  in  several  noble  and  public  designs. 
Biu  these  virtues  could  not  secure  her  against  the  artifices 
of  a  bigoted  party,  wHich  received  an  additional  force 
from  several  other  circumstances,  that  contributed  to  her 
destruction.  Soon  after  queen  Catharine^s  death  in  Jafi^ 
153.5-6,  she  was  brought  to  bed  of  a  dead  son,  which  was 
believed  to  have  made  a  bad  impression  on  the  king's  mind; 
and  as  be  had  concluded  from  the  death  of  his  sons  by 
his  former  queen,  that  the  marriage  was  displeasing  to 
God,  so  he  might  upon  this  misfortune  begin  to  have  the 
same  opinion  of  his  marriage  with  queen  Anne.  It  was 
also  considered  by  some  courtiers,  that  now  queen  Catha- 
rine was  dead,  his  majesty  might  marry  another  wife,  and 
be  fully  reconciled  with  the  pope  and  the  emperor,  and 
the  issue  by  any  other  marriage  would  never  be  questioned ; 
whereas,  while  queen  Anne  lived,  the  ground  of  the  con« 
troversy  still  remained,  and  her  marriage  being  accounted 
Dull  from  the  beginning,  would  never  be  allowed  by  the 
court  of  Rom/e,  or  any  of  that  party.  With  these  reasons 
of  state  the  king's  own  passions  too  much  concurred  ;  for 
he  now  entertained  a  secret  love  for  the  lady  Jane  Sey- 
mour, who  had  all  the  .charms  of  youth  and  beauty,  and 
^n  humour  tempered  between  the  gravity  of  queen  Catha- 
rine, and  the  gaiety  of  queen  Anne.  Her  majesty  there- 
fore perceiving  the  alienation  of  the  king^s  heart,  used  all 
possible  .arts  to  recover  that  affection,  the  decay  of  which 
she  was  sensible  of ;  but  the  success  was  quite  contrary  to 
what  she  designed.  For  be  saw  her  no  more  with  those 
eyes  which  she  had  formerly  captivated ;  but  gave  way  to 
jealousy,  and  ascribed  her  caresses  to  some  other  criminal 
passion,  of  which  be  began  to  suspect  her.  Her  chearful 
tenaper  indeed  was  not  always  limited  within  the  bounds  of 
exact  decency  and  discretion ;  and  her  brother  the  lord 
Rochford^s  wife,  a  woman  of  no  virtue,  being  jealous  of 
her  husband  and  her,  possessed  the  king  with  her  own  ap- 
prehensions. Henry  Norris,  groom  of  the  stole,  William 
Brereton,  and  sir  Francis  Weston,  who  were  of  the  king^s 
privy  chamber,  and  Mark  Smeton,  a  musician,  were  by 
the  queen's,  enemies  thought  too  officious  about  her ;  and 
something  was  pretended  to  have  been  sworn  by  the  lady 
Wiqgfield  at  her  death,  which  determined  the  king  :  but 
^e  particulars  are  not  known.  It  is  reported  likewise, 
that  w^ep  the  king  held  a  tournament  at  Greenwich  oq  the 


«  B  O  L  E  N. 

l8t  of  May,  1536,  he  was  displeased  at  the  queen  fof 
lettiacr  her  handkerchief  fall  to  one,  who  was  supposed  a 
favourite,  and  who  wiped  his  face  with  it.  Whatever  the 
case  was,  the  king  returned  suddenly  from  Greenwich  to 
Whitehall,  and  immediately  ordered  her  to  be  confined  to 
her  chamber,  and  her  brother,  with  the  four  persons  above- 
mentioned,  to  be  committed  to  the  Tower,  and  herself  to 
be  bent  after  them  the  day  following.  On  the  river  some 
privy  counsellors  came  to  examine  her,  but  she  made  deep 
protestations  of  her  innocence  ;  and  as  she  landed  at  the 
Tower,  she  fell  down  on  her  knees,  and  prayed  Heaven 
•'  so  to  assist  her,  as  she  was  free  from  the  crimes  laid  to 
her  charge."  The  confusion  she  was  in  soon  raised  a  storm 
of  vapours  within  her ;  sometimes  she  laughed,  and  at 
other  times  wept  excessively.  She  was  also  devout  and 
light  by  turus ;  one  while  she  stood  upon  her  vindication, 
and  at  other  times  confessed  some  indiscretions,  which 
upon  recollection  she  denied.  All  about  her  took  advan- 
tage from  any  word,  that  fell  from  her,  and  sent  it  imme- 
diately to  court.  The  duke  of  Norfolk  and  others,  who 
came  to  examine  her,  the  better  to  make  discoveries,  told 
her,  that  Norris  and  Smeton  had  accused  her;  which, 
though  false,  had  this  effect  on  her,  that  it  induced  her  to 
own  some  slight  acts  of  indiscretion,  which,  though  no  ways 
essential,  totally  alienated  the  king  from  her.  Yet  whe- 
ther even  these  small  acknowledgments  were  real  truths, 
or  the  effects  of  imagination  and  hysterical  emotions,  is 
very  uncertain.  On  the  12th  of  May,  Norris,  Brereton, 
Weston,  and  Smeton,  were  tried  in  Westminster-hall. 
Smeton  is  said  by  Dr.  Burnet  to  have  confessed  the  fact ; 
but  the  lord  Herbert^s  silence  in  this  matter  imports  him  to 
have  been  of  a  different  opinion  ;  to  which  may  be  added, 
that  Cromwell's  letter  to  the  king  takes  notice,  that  only 
some  circumstances  were  confessed  by  Smeton.  However, 
they  were  all  four  found  guilty,  and  executed  on  the  17th 
of  May.  On  the  15th  of  which  month,  the  queen,  and  her 
brother  the  lord  Hochford,  were  tried  by  their  peers  in 
the  Tower,  and  condemned  to  die.  Yet  all  this  did  not 
satisfy  the  enraged  king,  who  resolved  likewise  to  illegiti- 
mate his  daughter  Elizabeth ;  and,  in  order  to  that,  to  an- 
nul his' marriage  with  the  queen,  upon  pretence  of  a  pre- 
contract between  her  and  tlie  lord  Percy,  now  earl  of  Nor-? 
thumberland,  who  solemnly  denied  it ;  though  the  queen 
was  prevailed  upon  to  acknowledge,  that  there  were  some 


B  O  L  E  N.  25 

jUst  and  lawful  impedimeDtg  against  her  marriage  with  the 
king ;  and  upon  this  a  sentence  of  divorce  was  pronounced 
by  the  archbishop,  and  afterwards  confirmed  in  the  conyo**- 
cation  and  parliament.  On  the  19th  of  May,  she  was 
brought  to  a  scaffold  within  the  Tower,  where  she  was 
prevailed  upon,  out  of  regard  to  her  daughter,  to  make  no 
reflections  on  the  hardships  she  had  sustained,  nor  to  say 
any  thing  touching  the  grounds  on  which  sentence  passed 
against  her ;  only  she  desired,  that  ^'  all  would  judge  the 
best.^'  Her  head  being  severed  from  her  body,  they  were 
both  put  into  an  ordinary  chest,  and  buried  in  the  chapel 
in  the  Tower. 

Her  death  was  much  lamented  by  many,  as  die  had  been 
an  eminent  patroness  of  men  of  learning  and  genius,  and 
in  all  other  respects  of  a  most  generous  and  charitable  dis- 
position ;  and  it  is  highly  probable,  that,  if  she  had  lived, 
the  vast  sums  of  money,  which  were  raised  by  the  sup* 
pression  of  religious  bouses,  would  have  been  employed  in 
the  promotion  of  the  most  public  and  valuable  purposes.  ^ 

BOLLANDUS  (John),  a  learned  Jesuit,  was  born  at 
Tillemont,  in  the  Netherlands,  Aug.  13,  1596,  and  at 
sixteen,  a  very  usual  age,  entered  the  society  of  the  Je- 
suits, and  soon  became  distinguished  as  a  teacher,  both  in 
the  Netherlands,  and  in  other  countries.  What  entitles 
him  to  notice  here,  is  the  share  he  had  in  that  voluminous 
work,  the  "  Lives  of  the  faints,"  or  **  Acta.  Sanctorum.'* 
The  history  of  this  work  is  not  uninteresting,  although  the 
work  itself,  otherwise  than  for  occasional  consultation, 
defies  time  and  patience.  The  design  of  this  vast  collect 
tion  was  first  projected  by  father  Hesibert  Roseweide,  a 
Jesuit  of  the  age  of  sixty,  and  consequently  too  far  ad* 
vanced  to  execute  much  of  bis  plan,  which  was  to  extend 
no  farther  than  eightieen  volumes  folio,  a  trifle  in  those 
days,  bad  he  begun  earlier.  In  1607,  however,  he  began 
by  printing  the  manuscript  lives  of  some  saints,  which  he 
happened  to  find  in  the  Netherlands ;  but  death  put  an 
end  to  his  labours  in  1629.  It  was  then  entrusted  to  Bol-^ 
landus,  who  was  about  this  time  thirty-ibur  years  of  age, 
and  who  removed  to  Antwerp  for  the  purpose.  After  exa- 
mining Roseweide^s  collections,  he  established  a  general 
correspondence  over  all  Europe,  instructing  his  friends  to 

1  Birch's  Lives  to  HoaHra1cen*»  Heads. — ^Lodge's  Liveg  to  Holbein's  ditto.— 
Burnet's  Hisit.  of  the  Reformation.<>~Rapin,  Hume,  and  Henry's  Hist,  of  Eng' 
land,  itc, — Park's  edition  of  Waipole's  Royal  and  Noble  Authors. 


56  BOLLANDUS. 

search  cv€ry  library,  register,  or  repository  of  any  kind, 
ivhere  information  might  be  found;  but  becoming  soon 
sensible  of  the  weight  of  his  undertaking,  he  called  in  the 
assistance  of  another  Jesuit,  Henschenius  of  Guelderland, 
younger  than  himself,  more  healthy,  and  equally  qualified 
in  other  respects.  With  this  aid  he  was  enabled  in  1641 
to  publish  the  first  two  volumes,  folio,  which  contain  the 
lives  of  the  saints  of  the  month  of  January,  the  order  of 
the  Kalendar  having  been  preferred.  In  1658  he  pub- 
lished those  of  February ;  and  two  years  after,  his  labours 
still  encreasing,  he  had  another  as30ciate,  father  Daniel 
Paperbroch,  at  that  time  about  thirty-two  years  old,  whom 
he  sent^ith  Henschenius  to  Italy  and  France  to  collect 
manuscripts,  but  he  died  before  the  publication  of  another 
volume,  Sept.  12,  1665.  After  his  death  the  work  was 
continued  by  various  hands,  called  Bollandists,  until  it 
amounted  to  forty-two  folio  volumes,  the  last  published 
1753,  which,  after  all,  bring  down  the  lives  only  to  the 
fourteenth  of  September.  In  such  an  undertaking,  much 
legendary  matter  must  be  expected,  and  many  absurdities 
and  fictions.  Dupin  allows  Uiat  BoUandus  was  more  parr 
tial  to  popular  traditions  than  Henschenius  and  Paperblroch, 
yet  it  would  appear  that  they  found  it  difficult  (p  please 
the  taste  of  the  different  orders  of  monks,  &c.  who  were 
to  be  edified  by  the  work.  Bollandus  published  separately: 

1.  "  Vita   S.   Liborii  Episcopi,'*    Antwerp,    1648,    8vo, 

2.  "Brevis  Notitia  Italiae,"  ibid.  1648.  3.  "Breves No- 
titise  triplici  status,  Ecclesiastici,  Monastici  et  Saecularis,^^ 
ibid.  1648.* 

BOLLIOUD-MERMET  (Louis),  a  French  writer,  was 
born  at  Lyons,  Feb.  13,  1709,  of  a  distinguished  family, 
and  died  there  in  1793.  He  wrote,  1.  ^^  De  la  corruption 
du  gout  dans  la  Musique  Frangaise,-*  1745,  12mo.  2.  "De 
la  BiBUOMANiE,"  1761,  8vo,  ^  subject  since  so  ably 
handled  by  Mr.  Dibdin.  3.  "  Discours  sur  I'Emulation,** 
1763,  8vo.  4.  "  Essai  sur  la  lecture,"  1763,  8vo.  He 
left  in  manuscript  a  history  of  the  s^c^demy  of  Lyons,  of 
which  he  wak  secretary,  and  after  fifty  years  attendance  at 
their  sittings,  pronounced  a  discourse  entitled  ^*  Reno-* 
vation  des  voeux  litteraires,^'  which  was  afterward^  pub-* 
Ushed.  * 

1  Dupin.— Morcri^^Foppen  Bibl.  Belgic— Saxii  Onomast 
*  Diet.  Hist 


B  O  L  S  E  C.  27 

ftOLOGNESE.     See  GRIMALDI. 

BOLSEC  (JEROM£)y  a  writer,  whose  whole  merit  wa^ 
inventing  abominable  lies  and  absurdities  against  the  first 
reformers  in  the  sixteenth  century ;  and,  by  this  means 
'Supplying  popish  missionaries  with  matter  of  invective 
against  them,  he  was  often  quoted,  and  became  respected. 
He  was  a  CarmeHte  of  Paris,  who,  having  preached  some- 
.what  freely  in  St.  Bartholomew's  church,  forsook  his  order, 
and  fled  into  Italy,  where  he  set  up  for  a  physician, 
and  married;  but  soon  after  committed  some  crime,  for 
which  be  was  driven  away.  He  set  up  afterwards  in 
Geneva  as  a  physician ;  "but  not  succeeding  in  that 
profession,  he  studied  divinity.  At  Urst  he  dogma* 
tized  privately  on  the  mystery  ^of  predestination,  ac- 
cording to  the  principles  of  Pelagius;  and  afterwards 
had  the  boldness  to  make  a  public  discourse  against 
the  received  opinion.  Upon  this,  Calvin  went  to  see 
him,  and  censured  him  mildly.  Then  he  sent  for  him 
to  his  house,  and  endeavoured  to  reclaim  him  from  his 
error ;  but  this  did  not  hinder  Bolsec  from  delivering  in 
public  an  insulting  discourse  against  the  decree  of  eternal 
predestination.  Calvin  was  among  his  auditors;  but, 
hiding  himself  in  the  crowd,  was  not  seen  by  Bolsec, 
which  made  him  the  bolder.  As  soon  as  Bolsec  had  ended 
his  sermon,  Calvin  stood  up,  and  confuted  all  he  had  been 
saying.  '*  He  answered,  overset,  and  confounded  him,'* 
.says  Beza,  ^'  with  so  many  testimonies  from  the  word  of 
God,  with  so  many  passages,  chiefly  from  St.  Augustine-—^ 
in  short,  with  so  many  solid  arguments,  that  every  body 
was  miserably  ashamed  for  him,  except  the  brazen-faced 
monk  himself."  On  this,  a  magistrate  who  was  present 
in  that  assembly,  sent  him  to  prison.  The  cause  was  dis- 
cussed very  fully,  and  at  last,  with  the  advice  of  the  Swiss 
churches,  the  senate  of  Geneva  declared  Bolsec  convicted 
of  sedition  and  Pelagianism;  and  as  such,  in  1551,  ba- 
nished him  from  the  territory  of  the  republic,  on  pain  of 
being  whipped  if  he  should  return  thither.  He  retired 
into  a  neighbouring  place,  which  depended  on  the  canton 
of  Bern,  and  raised  a  great  deal  of  disturbance  there,  by 
accusing  Calvin  of  making  God  the  author  of  sin.  Calvin, 
to  prevent  the  impressions  which  such  complaints  might 
make  upon  the  gentlemen  of  Bern,  caused  himself  to  be 
deputed  to  them,  and  pleaded  his  cause  before  them.  He 
W9S  so  fortunate^  that  though  he  could  not  get  a  deter- 


CS  B  O  L  S  E  C. 

xnination  upon  his  doctrine,  whcfther  it  was  true  or  false, 
yet  Bolsec  was  ordered  to  quit  the  country. 

He  returned  to  France,  and  applied  himself  to  the  Pro-- 
testants ;  first  at  Paris,  afterwards  at  Orleans.  He  shewed 
a  great  desire  to  be  promoted  to  the  ministry,  and  to  be 
reconciled  to  the  church  of  Geneva ;  but  the  persecution 
that  arose  against  the  Protestants,  made  him  resolve  to 
take  up  his  first  religion,  and  the  practice  of  physic.  He 
went  and  settled  at  Autun,  and  prostituted.his  wife  to  the 
canons  of  that  place ;  and  to  ingratiate  himself  the  more 
with  the  Papists,  exerted  a  most  flaming  zeal  against  the 
reformed.  He  changed  his  habitatron  often :  he  lived  at 
Lyons  in  1582,  as  appears  by  the  title  of  a  book,  which 
he  caused  to  be  printed  then  at  Paris  against  Beza,  and 
died  there  in  the  same  year.  The  book  just  mentioned  is 
entitled  "  The  history  of  the  life,  doctrine,  and  behaviour 
of  Theodorus  Beza,  called  the  spectable  and  great  minister 
of  Geneva.**  This  was  preceded  by  the  "  History  of  the 
life,  actipus,  doctrine,  constancy,  and  death  of  John 
Calvin,  heretofore  minister  of  Geneva,"  which  was  printed 
at  Lyons,  in  1577.  Both  these  histories  are  altogether 
unworthy  of  credit,  as  well  because  they  are  written  by  an 
author  full  of  resentment,  as  because  they  contain  facts 
notoriously  false.  ^ 

BOLSWERT,  or  BOLSUERD  (Boetius  Adam  a^), 
was  an  engraver,  of  Antwerp,  who  flourished  about  1620; 
but  by  what  master  he  was  instructed  in  the  art  of  en* 
graving,  does  not  appear.  He  imitated  the  free  open 
style  of  the  Bloemarts  with  great  success ;  and  perhaps 
perfected  himself  in  their  school.  When  he  worked  from 
Rubens,  he  altered  that  style ;  and  his  plates  are  neater, 
fuller  of  colour,  and  more  highly  finished.  The  two  fol- 
lowing from  this  master  may  be  here  mentioned:  1.  The 
Resurrection  of  Lazarus,  a  large  upright  plate.  2.  The 
Last  Supper,  its  companion.  Basan,  speaking  of  this  print, 
says,  that  it  proves  by  its  beauty,  and  the  knowledge  with 
which  it  is  engraved,  that  Boetius  could  sometimes  equal 
his  brother  Scheltius. ' 

BOLSWERT,  or  BOLSUERD  (Scheltius  a^),  an  ad- 
mirable  engraver,  was  the  brother  of  the  preceding.  The 
time  of  his  birth  and  of  his  death,  and  the  name  of  the 
master  he  studied  under,  are  equally  unknown.     Bolswert, 

1  Gen.  Diet — Moslieim.'^Moreri. — Beza'i  lif<  of  Calvio.-«-Sa»t  Ooomiist. 
9  Strntt's  Dictionary* 


BOLSWERT.  29 

• 

like  his  brother,  worked  entirely  with  the  graver.  His 
general  character  as  an  an  artist  is  well  drawn  by  Basan, 
who  says  :  ^^  We  have  a  large  number  of  prints,  which  are 
held  in  great  esteem,  by  this  artist,  from  various  masters ; 
but  especially  fro^i  Rubens,  whose  pictures  he  has  copied 
with  all  possible  knowledge,  taste,  and  great  effect.  The 
freedom  with  which  this  excellent  artist  handled  the  graver, 
the  picturesque  roughness  of  etching,  which  he  could 
imitate  without  any  other  assisting  instrument,  and  the 
ability  he  possessed  of  distinguishing  the  different  masses 
of  colours,  have  always  been  admired  by  the  connoisseurs, 
and  give  him  a  place  in  the  number  of  those  celebrated 
engravers  whose  prints  ought  to  be  considered  as  models 
by  all  historical  engravers,  who  are  desirous  of  rendering 
their  works  as  useful  as  they  are  agreeable,  and  of  ac* 
quiring  a  reputation  as  lasting  as  it  is  justly  merited.'*  He 
drew  excellently,  and  without  any  manner  of  his  own ; 
for  his  prints  are  the  exact  transcripts  of  the  pictures  he 
engraved  from.  His  best  works,  though  not  always 
equally  neat  or  finished,  are  always  beautiful,  and  mani- 
fest the  hand  of  the  master.  Sometimes  we  find  his  en- 
gravings are  in  a  bold,  free,  open  style ;  as  the  Brazea 
Serpent ;  the  Marriage  of  the  Virgin,  &c.  from  Rubens. 
At  other  times  they  are  very  neat,  and  sweetly  finished ; 
as,  the  Crowning  with  Thorns,  and  the  Crucifixion,  &c» 
from  Vandyck.  Mr.  Strutt  observes,  that  his  boldest  en- 
gravings are  from  Rubens,  and  his  neatest  from  Vandyck 
and  Jordan.  How  greatly  Bolswert  varied  his  manner  of 
engraving  appears  from  some  prints,  which,  like  the 
greater  part  of  those  of  his  brother  Boetius,  bear  great  re- 
semblance to  the  free  engravings  of  the  Bloemarts,  and  to 
those  of  Frederic  Bloemart  especially  ;  and  form  a  part  of 
the  plates  for  a  large  folio  volume  entitled  *^  Academie  de 
I'Espfie,'*  by  Girard  Thibault  of  Antwerp,  where  it  was 
published  A.D.  1628;  and  to  these  he  signs  his  name 
"  Scheltius,"  and  sometimes  "  Schelderic  Bolswert,'*  ad- 
ding the  word  Bruxelle.  His  works  are  pretty  numerouS| 
and  his  name  is  usually  affixed  to  his  plates  in  this  manner: 
"S.  A.  Bolswert."* 

BOLTON,  or  BOULTON  (Edmund),  an  ingenious 
writer  and  antiquary,  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  was  a  retainer  to  the  great  George  Villiers,  duke 
of  Buckingham,  under  whom  he  probably  enjoyed  some 

1  .Strutt'f  Dictionarj. 


.. —   .  1... , 


30  S  0  L  f  O  N. 

ofiice.  He.  was  a  Roman  catholic  ;  and  distinguiished  bitn-j 
self  by  the  following  curious  writings;  l."The  Life  of 
king  Henry  II."  intended  to  be  inserted  in  Speed's  Chro- 
nicle; but  the  author  being  too  partial  to  Thomas  Becket/ 
another  life  was  written  by  Dr.  Barcham.  2.  "  The  Ele- 
ments of  Armories,"  Lond.  1610,  4to.  3,  A  poem  upon 
the  translation  of  the  body  of  Mary  queen  of  Scots,  from 
Peterburgh  to  Westminster-abbey,  in  1612,  entitled  "  Pro- 
sopopoeia Basilica,"  a  MS.  in  the  Cottonian  library.  4^ 
An  English  translation  of  Lucius  Florus's  Roman  History. 
5.  "  Nero  Caesar,  or  Monarchic  depraved.  An  historical! 
worke,  dedicated  with  leave  to  the  duke  of  Buckingham, 
lord-admiral,"  Lond.  1624,  fol.  This  book,  which  con- 
tains the  life  of  the  emperor  Nero,  is  printed  in  a  neat 
and  elegant  manner,  and  illustrated  wilh  several  eurious 
medals.  In  recapitulating  the  affairs  of  Britain^  from  the 
time  of  Julius  Caesar  to  the  revolt  under  Nero,  he  relates 
the  history  of  Boadicea,  and  endeavours  to  prove  that 
Stonehenge  is  a  monument  erected  to  her  memory.  How 
much  he  differs  from  the  conjectures  of  the  other  anti- 
quaries who  have  endeavoured  to  trace  the  history  of 
Stonehenge,  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  specify.  He 
wrote  also,^  6.  "  Vindiciae  Britannicae,  or  London  righted 
by  rescues  and  recoveries  of  antiquities  of  Britain  in  gene- 
ral, and  of  London  in  particular,  against  unwarrantable 
prejudices,  and  historical  antiquations  amongst  the  learned ; 
for  the  more  honour,  and  perpetual  just  uses  of  the  noble 
island  and  the  city."  It  consists  of  seven  chapters.  In 
the  first,  he  treats  "  of  London  before  the  Britann  rebells 
sackt  and  fired  it  in  hatred  and  defiance  of  Nero."  In  the 
second  he  shows,  that  "  London  was  more  great  and  fa- 
mous in  Nero's  days,  than,  that  it  should  be  within  the 
description,  which  Julius  Cassar  makes  of  a  barbarous  Bri- 
tann town  in  his  days."  In  the  third,  he  proves,  "  that 
the  credit  of  Julius  Caesar's  writings  may  subsist,  and  yet 
London  retain  the  opinion  of  utmost  antiquity."  In  the 
fourth,  '^  the  same  fundamental  assertion  is  upholden  with 
other,  and  with  all  sorts  of  arguments  or  reasons."  Th*e 
fifth  bears  this  title,  "  The  natural  face  of  the  seat  of 
London  (exactly  described  in  this  section)  most  sufficiently 
proved,  that  it  was  most  antiently  inhabited,  always  pre- 
supposing reasonable  men  in  Britain."  The  sixth  contains 
*^  a  copious  and  serious  disquisition  about  the  old  book  of 
Brute,  aiid  of  the  authority  thereof;  especially  so  far  forth 


BOLTON-  31 

Its  concerns  the  present  cause  of  the  honour  and  antiquity 
of  London,  fundamentally  necessary  in  general  to  our  na- 
tional history .''  The  last  chapter  is  entitled,  '^  Special,  aa 
well  historical,  as  other  illustrations,  for  the  use  of  the* 
coins  in  my  Nero  Ceesar,  concerning  Lotidon  in  and  before 
that  time."  This  MS.  {for  it  never  was  printed)  was  in  the 
possession  of  Hugh  Howard,  esq.  and  afterwards  sold  among 
Thomas  Rawlinson's  to  Endymion  Porter.  Mr.  Bolton  was 
also  author  of  "  Hypercritica,  or  a  rule  of  judgement  for 
writing  or  reading  our  histories.  Delivered  in  four  super- 
censorian  addresses  by  occasion  of  a  censorian  epistle^ 
prefixed  by  sir  Henry  Savile,  knt.  to  his  edition  of  some 
of  our  oldest  historians  in  Latin,  dedicated  to  the  late 
queen  Elizabeth.  That  according  thereunto,  a  complete 
body  of  our  affairs)  a  Carpus  Rcrum  Anglicarum  may  at 
last,  and  from  among  our  ourselves,  come  happily  forth  in 
either  of  the  tongues.  A  felicity  wanting  to  our  nation, 
now  when  even  the  name  thereof  is  as  it  were  at  an  end.^' 
It  was  published  by  Dr.  Hall,  at  the  end  of  "  Triveti  An- 
nales,"  Oxford,  1722,  8vo.  Bolton  likewise  intended  to 
compose  a  '^  General  History  of  England,  or  an  entire  and 
complete  body  of  English  affairs ;"  and  there  is  in  the 
Cottonian  collection,  the  outline  of  a  book  entitled  ^^  Agon 
Heroicius,  or  concerning  Arms  and  Armories,"  a  copy  of 
which  is  in  the  Biog.  Britannica.  The  time  and  place  of 
his  death  are  unknown.  ^ 

BOLTON  (Robert),  an  eminent  puritan  divine,  and 
one  of  the  best  scholars  of  his  time,  was  born  at  Blackburn 
in  Lancashire,  in  1572,  and  educated  in  queen  Elizabeth's 
free-school  in  that  place,  where  he  made  such  proficiency 
as  to  be  accounted  a  young  man  of  extraordinary  talents 
and  industry.  In  his  eighteenth  year  he  went  to  Oxford, 
and  entered  of  Lincoln  college,  under  the  tuition  of  Mr. 
John  Randal,  where  he  went  through  a  course  of  logic  and 
philosophy  with  distinguished  approbation,  and  particu- 
larly ,took  pains  to  acquire  a  critical  knowledge  of  Greek, 
transcribing  the  whole  of  Homer  with  his  own  hand.  By 
this  diligence  he  attained  a  greater  facility  than  was  then 
usual,  writing,  and  even  disputing,  in  Greek  with  great 
correctness  and  fluency.  From  Lincoln  he  removed  to 
Brazen-nose,  in  hopes  of  a  fellowship,  as  that  society  eon*- 

1  Biog.  Brit.^Warton'8  Hist.  9f  Poetry,  vol.  IIJ.  p.  275— S73.-^Bitson»i 
fiiblios^.  Poetics. 


32  BOLTON. 

listed  most  of  Lincolnshire  and  Cheshire  m6ii.  In  1596 
he  took  his  bachelor^s  degree  in  this  college,  and  was 
Jcindly  supported  by  Dr.  Brett  of  Lincoln,  himself  a  good 
« Grecian,  and  who  admired  the  proficiency  Boiton  had 
made  in.  that  language,  until  1602,  when  he  obtained  a 
fellowship,  and  proceeded  M.  A.,  the  same  year.  His  re- 
putation advancing  rapidly,  he  was  successively  chosen 
reader  of  the  lectures  on  logic,  and  on  moral  and  natural 
philosophy  in  his  college.  In  1605,  when  king  JamesL 
came  to  Oxford,  the  vice-chancellor  (Abbot,  afterwards 
archbishop  of  Canterbury)  appointed  him  to  read  in  natural 
philosophy  in  the  public  schools,  and  to  be  one  of  the 
disputants  before  his  majesty.  Afterwards  he  increased 
his  stock  of  learning  by  metaphysics,  mathematics,  and 
scholastic  divinity.  About  this  time,  one  Anderton,  a 
countryman  and  schoolfellow,  and  a  zealous  Roman  ca- 
tholic, endeavoured  to  seduce  him.  to  that  religion,  and  a 
place  of  private  conference  was  fixed,  but  Anderton  not 
keeping  his  appointment,  the  affair  dropped.  Mr.  Bolton, 
with  all  his  learning,  had  been  almost  equally  noted  for 
immorality,  but  about  his  thirty>fourth  year,  reformed  his 
life  and  manners,  and  became  distinguished  for  regularity 
and  piety.  In  1609,  about  two  years  after  he  entered  into 
holy  orders,  which  he  did  very  late  in  life,  he  was  pre- 
sented to  the  living  of  Broughton  in  Northamptonshire,  by 
Mr.  afterwards  sir  Augustine  NicoUs,  seijeant  at  law,  who 
sexit  for  him  to  his  chambers  in  Serjeant's  Inn  and  gave 
him  the  presentation.  Dr.  King,  bishop  of  London,  being 
by  accident  there  at  the  same  time,  thanked  the  serjeant 
for  what  he  had  done  for  Broughton,  but  told  him  that  he 
had.  deprived  the  university  of  a  singular  ornament.  He 
then  went  to  his  living  and  remained  on  it  until  his  death, 
Dec*  17,  1631.  He  was,  says  Wood,  a  painful  and  con- 
stant preacher,  a  person  of  great  zeal  in  his  duty,  cha- 
ritable and  bountiful,  and  particularly  skilled  in  resolving 
the  doubts  of  timid  Christians.  Of  his  works,  the  most 
popular  in  his  time,  was  •"  A  Discourse  on  Happiness." 
Lond.  1611,  4to,  which  was  eagerly  bought  up,  and  went 
through  six  editions  at  least  in  his  lifef-time.  He  published 
.also  various  single  and  volumes  of  sermons,  a  list  of  which 
may  be  seen  in  Wood.  After  his  death  Edward  Bagshaw, 
esq.  published  **  Mr.  Bolton's  last  and  learned  work  of  the 
Four  last  Things,  Death,  Judgment,  Hell,  and  Heaven, 
with  an  Assize  Sermon,  and  Funeral  Sermon  for  his  patron 


BOLTON.  33 

iudge  Nichols/'  Lond.  1633.  Prefixed  to  this  is  the  life 
of  Mr.  Bbltoi),  to  which  all  his  subsequent  biographers 
have  been  indebted.  ^ 

BOLTON  (Robert),  dean  of  Carlisle,  was  born  in  Lon- 
don in  April  1697,  and  was  the  only  surviving  child  of 
Mr.  Jobn  Bolton,  a  merchant  in  that  city,  whom  he  lodt 
when  he  was  but  three  years  old.  He  was  first  educated  in 
a  school  ^t  Kensington,  and  was  admitted  a  commoner  at 
Wadham  college,  Oxford,  April  12,  1712;  He  was  after- 
Wards  elected  a  scholar  of  that  house,  where  he  took  his 
degree  of  B.  A;  in  1715^  and  of  M.  A.  June  13,  1718,  ex- 
pecting to  be  elected  fellow  in  his  turn  ;  but  in  this  he  was 
disappointed,  and  appealed,  without  success,  to  the  bishop 
of  Bath  and  Wells,  the  visitor.  In  July  1719  he  removed 
to  Hart  Hall ;  and  on  the  20th  December  following,  was 
ordained  a  deacon,  in  the  cathedral  church  of  St.  Paul,  by 
Dr.  John  Robinson,  bishop  of  London,  He  then  went  to 
reside  at  Fiilham,  and  seems  to  have  passed  two  years  there : 
for  he  was  ordained  priest  by  the  same  bishop  in  the  cha- 
pel of  Fulham  palace>  April  11,  1721.  While  at  Fulhain 
he  became  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Grace  Butler  of  Rowdell 
in  Sussex,  on  whose  daughter  Elizabeth  he  wrote  an  epi- 
taph, which  is  placed  in  Twickenham  church-yard,  where 
she^  was  buried*  This  epitaph  gave  occasion  to  some  verses 
by  Pope,  which  appear  in  KufFhead's  life  of  that  poet, 
and  were  communicated  to  the  author  by  the  hon«  Mr. 
Yorke,  who  probably  did  not  know  that  they  first  appeared 
in  the  Prompter,  a  periodical  paper.  No.  VUL  and  after-* 
wards  in  the  works  of  Aaron  Hill,  who  by  mistake  ascribes 
the  character  of  Mrs.  Butler  to  Pope. 

Being  chosen  senior  fellow  of  Dulwich  college,  he  went 
to  reside  there,  March  10,  1722,  where  he  repiained  three 
years,  and  resigned  his  fellowship  May  1,  1725.  About 
this  time  he  removed  to  Kensington,  living  upon  a  small 
fortune  he  possessed  ;  and  here  he  appears  to  have  become 
acquainted  with  the  celebrated  Whiston  ;  and  partly,  as  it 
is  said,  by  his  recommendation ^  became  known  to  sir  Jo-* 
seph  Jekyil,  master  of  the  roils,  by  whom  he  was  ap- 
pointed his  domestic  chaplain^  and^  in  1729,  preacher  at 
the  Rolls,  on  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Butler, ^afterwards 
bishop  of  Durham.     This  connection  introduced  him  to 

'  Life  ubi  supra — Ath.  Ox.  I. — Fuller's  Worthies  and  Abel  Kedivivus.-— 
Clark's.  Eccl.  History  .---Grander,  aad  a  blunder  comuiiUed  by  bim*  corrected  ia 
«ent  Mag.  vol.  XLVJIL  p.  75.  '  .  . 

Vol.  VI.  D 


34  BOLTON. 

the  patronage  of  lord  Hardwicke,  by  whose  means,  in  1754, 
he  was  promoted  to  the  deanery  of  Carlisle,  and,  in  1738, 
to  the  vicarage  of  St  Mary's  Reading.    He  had  bis  degree 
of  doctor  of  civil  la;y^  from  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
Jan.  13,  1734,  and  went  to  reside  at  Carlisle  in  1736.   Both 
these  preferments,  the  only  ones  he  ever  received,  he  held 
until  the  time  of  his  death.     He  was  an  excellent  parish- 
priest,  and  a  good  preacher,  charitable  to  'the  poor,  and 
having  from  his  own  valetudinary  state  acquired  some  know- 
ledge of  physic,  he  kindly  assisted  them  by  advice  and 
medicine.     He  was  greatly  beloved  by  his  parishioners, 
and  deservedly;  for  he  performed  every  part  of  his  duty 
in  a  truly  exemplary  manner.     On  Easter  Tuesday  in  1739 
he  preached  one  of  the  spital  sermons  at  St.  Bride's,  Fleet* 
street,  which  was  afterwards  printed  in  4to,    but  we  do 
not  find  that  he  aspired  to  the  character  of  an  author, 
though  so  well  qualified  for  it,  until  late  in  life.     His  first 
performance  was  entitled  "  A  Letter  to  a  lady  on  Card- 
playing  on  the  Lord's  day,  8vo,  1748  ;  setting  forth  in  a 
lively  and  forcible  manner  the  many  evils  attending  the 
practice  of  gasfing  on  Sundays,  and  of  an  immoderate  at- 
tachment to  that  fatal  pursuit  at  any  time.     In  1750  ap- 
peared "  The  Employment  of  Time,  three  essays,"  8vo^ 
dedicated  to  lord  Hardwicke;    the  most  popular  of  our 
author's  performances,  and,  on   its   original  publication, 
generally  ascribed  to  Gilbert  West.     In  this  work  two  dis- 
tinguished and  exemplary  female  characters  are  supposed 
to  be  those  of  lady  Anson  and  lady  Heathcote,  lord  Hard- 
wicke's  daughters.   The  next  year,  1751,  produced  "  The 
Deity's  delay  in  punishing  the  guilty  considered  on  the 
principles  of  reason,"  8vo  ;  and  in  1755,  "An  answer  to 
the  question,  Where  are  your  arguments  against  what  you 
call  lewdness,  if  you  can  make  no  use  of  the  Bible  ?"  8vo. 
Continuing  to  combat  the  prevailing  vices  of  the  times,  he 
published  in  1757,  "A  Letter  to  an  officer  of  the  army 
on  Travelling  on  Sundays,"  8vo ;  and,  in  the  same  y«ear, 
**  The  Ghost  of  Ernest,  great  grandfather  of  her  royal 
highness  the  princess  dowager  of  Wales,  with  some  ac- 
count of  his  life,"  8vo.     Each  of  the  above  performances 
contains  good  sense^  learning,  philanthropy,  and  religion, 
and  each  of  them  is  calculated  for  the  advantage  of  society. 
The  last  work  whiqh  Dr.  Bolton  gave  the  public  was  not 
the  least  valuable.     It  was  entitled  "  Letters  and  Tracts  on 
the  Choice  of  Company,  and  other  subjects,"   1761,  8va 


BOLTON.  35 

This  he  dedicated  to  his  early  patron,  lord  Hardwicke^  to 
whom  he  had  inscribed  The  Employment  of  Time,  and 
who  at  this  period  was  no  longer  chancellor.  In  his  address 
to  this  nobleman  he  says,  "  An  address  to  your  lordship  om 
this  occasion  in  the  usual  style  would  as  ill  suit  your  incli- 
nations as  it  doth  my  age  and  profession.  We  are  both  of 
us  on  the  confines  of  eternity,  and  should  therefore  alike 
make  truth  our  care,  that  truth  which,  duly  influencing  our 
practice,  will  be  the  security  of  our  eternal  happiness. 
Distinguished  by  my  obligations  to  your  lordship,  I 
would  be  so  by  my  acknowledgments  of  them  :  I  would  not 
he  thought  to  have  only  then  owned  them  when  they  might 
have  been  augmented.  Whatever  testimony  I  gave  of 
respect  to  you  when  in  the  highest  civil  office  under  your 
prince,  I  would  express  the  same  when  you  have  resigned 
it ;  and  shew  as  strong  an  attachment  to  lord  Hardwicke  as 
I  ever  did  to-  the  lord  chancellor*  Receive,  therefore, 
a  tribute  of  thanks,  the  last  whiqh  I  am  ever  likely  in  this 
manner  to  pay.  But  I  am  hastening  to  my  grave,  with  a 
prospect  which  must  be  highly  pleasing  to  me,  uqless  di- 
vested of  all  just  regard  to  those  who  survive  me.'* 

Dr.  Bolton  was  originally  of  a  valetudinarian  habit, 
though  he  preserved  himself  by  temperance  to  a  consi- 
derable age.  In  the  preface  to  the  work  now  under  con- 
sideration, he  speaks  of  the  feeble  frame  he  with  so  much 
difficulty  supported ;  and  afterwards  says,  "  My  decay  id 
now  such,  that  it  is  with  what  I  write,  as  with  what  I  act ; 
I  see  in  it  the  faults  which  1  know  not  how  to  amend.*'  He 
however  survived  the  publication  of  it  two  years,  dying  in 
London,  where  he  came  for  Dr.  Addington's  advice,  on 
the  26th  Nov.  1763,  and  was  buried  in  the  porch  between 
the  first  and  second  door  of  the  parish-church  of  St  Mary. 
Reading.  Since  his  death  a  plain  marble  has  been  erected 
to  his  memory. 

Dr.  Bolton  was  a  very  tall  man,  very  thin,  very  brown. 
He  understood  well,  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  Spanish,'  Ita* 
lian,  and  French.  Mr.  Whiston,  jun.  says  that  it  was  a 
long  time  before  he  could  prevail  on  himself  to  subscribe 
to  the  thirty*nine  articles  for  preferment ;  but  at  last,  as 
articles  of  peace,  and  so  far  as  authorised  by  scripture^ 
he  did  ;  for  it  was  generally  supposed  he  did  not  approve 
of  all  the  Athanasian  doctrine.  There  is  nothing  of  this» 
however,  to  be  deduced  from  his  works,  and  he  appears 
to  have  accepted  his  preferments  when  offered.     He  mar«« 


36  BOLTON. 

ried  Mrs.  Holmes,  a  widow-lady,  with  whom  he  lived 
about  twenty-five  years  in  great  domestic  happiness,  but 
left  no  children  by  her.  Besides  the  several  performances 
already  mentioned,  he  wrote  and  printed  a  '^  Visitation 
sermon*'  in  1741 ;  and  under  his  inspection,  Mr.  David 
Henry,  then  printer  at  Reading,  abridged  "  Twenty  Dis- 
courses" from  Abp.  Tillotson's  works,  to  which  Dr.  Bolton 
is  said  to  have  prefixed  a  preface,  and  added  a  sermon  of 
his  own,  but  the  sermon  on  Sincerity  is  supposed  to  have 
been  abridged  by  Mr.  Wray,  his  son-in-law.  Mr.  Wray, 
now  rector  of  Darley,  in  Derbyshire,  published  "  A  Ser- 
mon occasioned  by  the  death  of  Robert  Bolton,  LL.  D. 
&c."  1764,  with  an  affectionate  tribute  to  his  memory.  * 

BOLZANIO  (UftBANO  Valeriano),  one  of  the  revivers 
of  letters  in  the  fifteenth  century,  was  born  in  1440,  and 
is  said  by  his  nephew  Pietro  Valeriano  to  have  been  the 
earliest  instructor  of  Leo  X.  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Greek 
tongue.  Although  an  ecclesiastic  of  the  order  of  St.  Fran- 
cis, he  quitted  the  walls  of  his  monastery  with  the  laudable 
curiosity  of  visiting  foreign  parts ;  and,  having  had  an 
opportunity  of  accompanying  Andrea  Gritti,  afterwards 
doge  of  Venice,  on  an  embassy  to  Constantinople,  he  thence 
made  an  excursion  through  Greece,  Palestine,  Egypt, 
Syria,  Arabia,  and  other  countries ;  always  travelling  on 
foot,  and  diligently  noting  whatever  appeared  deserving  of 
observation.  His  nephew  adds,  that  he  travelled  also  into 
Sicily,  where  he  twice  ascended  the  mountain  of  ^Etna, 
and  looked  down  its  crater.  The  disinterestedness  of  Ur- 
bano  is  also  strongly  insisted  on  by  his  nephew,  who  in- 
forms us  that  he  rather  chose  to  suffer  the  inconveniencies 
of  poverty,  than  to  receive  a  reward  for  those  instructions 
which  he  was  at  all  times  ready  to  give,  and  that  he  always 
persevered  in  refusing  those  honours  and  dignities  which 
Leo  X.  would  gladly  have  conferred  upon  him.  His  ac- 
tivity, temperance,  and  placid  disposition,  secured  to  him 
a  healthful  old  age ;  nor  did  he  omit  to  make  frequently 
excursions  through  Italy,  until  he  was  disqualified  from 
these  occupations  by  a  fall  in  his  garden  whilst  he  was 
pruning  his  trees.  His  principal  residence  was  at  Venice, 
where  he  not  only  assisted  Aldus  in  correcting  the  editions 
which  he  published  of  the  ancient  authors,  but  gave  im- 

.1  Coatei's  Hist,  of  Reading. — Former  edition  of  this  Diet.  |H-incipaIly  from  ft 
MS  account  by  the  late  Mr!  John  Whiston. 


B  O  L  Z  A  ^f  I  O.  37 

• 

structions  in  the  Greek  language  to  a  great  number  of 
scholars ;  and  there  was  scarcely  a  person  in  Italy  distin- 
guished by  his  proficiency  in  that  language  who  had  not  at 
some  time  been  his  pupil.  His  grammar,  ^^  Urbani  Gram- 
matica  Graeca/'  Venice,  1497,  4to,  was  the  first  attempt 
to  explain  in  Latin  the  rules  of  the  Greek  tongue,  and 
was  received  with  such  avidity,  that  Erasmus,  on  inquiring 
for  it  in  1499,  found  that  not  a  copy  of  the  impression 
remained  unsold.  He  died  in  the  convent  of  St  Niccolo, 
at  Venice,  in  1524,  and  bequeathed  to  that  convent  his 
valuable  library.  His  funeral  oration,  by  Alberto  da  Cas- 
telfranco,  was  printed  at  Venice  in  the  same  year,  4to.  * 

BOMBERG  (Daniel),  a  celebrated  printer  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  was  a  native  of  Antwerp,  but  settled  at 
Venice,  where  he  commenced  business  by  printing  a  He- 
brew Bible,  which  was  published  in  2  vols.  fol.  1518,  and 
reprinted  by  him  in  4to  and  8vo.  He  learned  Hebrew 
from  feWx  Pratenois,  an  Italian,  who  engaged  him  to  print 
a  Rabbinical  Bible,  which  appeared  in  1517,  fol.  dedicated 
by  Bomberg  to  Leo  X.  The  Jews,  however,  not  appro- 
ving of  this  edition,  the  rabbi  Jacob  Haum  suggested  an-- 
other,  which  Bomberg  published  in  4  vols.  fol.  in  1525.  He 
also,  in  1520,  began  an  edition  of  the  Talmud,  which  be 
finished,  ^fter  some  years,  in  11  vols.  fol.  This  he  re- 
printed twice,  and  each  edition  is  said  to  Jiave  cost  him  an 
hundred  thousand  crowns.  These  two  last  editions  are 
more  complete  and  beautifully  printed  than  the  first,  and 
are  in  more  estimation  than  the  subsequent  editions  of 
Bragadin  and  Burtorf.  Bomberg  appears  to  have  been  a 
man  highly  zealous  for  the  honour  of  his  art,  spared  no 
cost  in  embellishments,  and  is  said  to  have  retained  about 
an  hundred  Jews  as  correctors,  the  most  learned  he  could 
find.  In  printing  only,  in  the  course  of  his  life,  he  is 
thought  to  have  expended  four  millions  in  gold  (Scaliger 
says,  three  millions  of  crowns),  and  Vpssius  seems  to  hint 
that  he  injured  his  fortune  by  his  liberality.  He  died  at 
Venice  in  1549.* 

BONA  (John),  an  eminent  cardinal  of  the  church  of 
Rome,  and  author  of  several  devotional  pieces,  was  bom 
the  19th  of  October,  1609,  at  Mondovi,  a  little  city  in 
Piedipont,  of  a  noble  family^     Having  finished  his  first 

1  Kofcoe'f  Leo  K. 

s  Moreri.— Foppen,  Bibl.  fi^lf.— Le  LoDg,  Bibl.  Sftc.-*-»Baill6tJugemeni  de« 
SsTani,— Saxii  Onomait. 


3S  BONA. 

studies  with  great  success,  he  entered  himself  in  a  monas- 
tery of  the  order  of  St.  Bernard  near  Pignerol  in  July  1625, 
when  he  was  but  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  was  professed 
there  the  2d  of  August  the  year  following,  according  to 
Bertolot,  who  wrote  his  Life;  though  Moroti,  in  "  Cistercii 
feflorescentis  Historia,"  places  this  in  1627.     He  was  sent 
that  year  to  Monte  Grosso  near  Asti  to  study  philosophy, 
and  having  passed  through  a  course  of  it,  he  returned  to 
Pignerol,  where  he  applied  himself  to  divinity  without  the 
assistance  of  any  master  for  two  years,  and  afterwards  went  to 
Rome  to  perfect  himself  in  that  science  under  a  professor. 
*  Being  ordained  priest  at  the  proper  age,  the  sentiments  of 
piety  which  had  influenced  him  in  liis  youth,  and  which 
appear  through  all  his  writings,  wer^  heightened  and  im- 
proved.    He  had  been  scarce  three  years  in  his  course  of 
divinity,  when  he  was  sent  to  Mondovi  to  teach  it  there. 
He  had  some  reluctance  against  accepting  of  that  post  on 
account  of  his  aversion  to  disputes  ;  but  obedience,  which 
was  the  rule  of  all  his  actions,  obliged  him  to  submit  to  it. 
He  was  afterwards  made  prior  of  Asti ;  and  eight  months 
after  he  was  nominated  abbot  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Mark 
at  Mondovi ;  but  he  was  so  importunate  in  his  solicitations 
to  the  general  of  the  congregation  to  be  discharged  from 
that   office,  that  his  request  was  granted.     He  was  sent, 
therefore,  to  Turin,  where  he  spent  five  years  in  collect- 
ing the  materials  for  his  book  of  Psalmody.     He  was  after- 
wards appointed  again  prior  of  Asti,  abbot  of  Mondovi,  and 
general  of  his  order  in  1651.     While  he  held  the  last  post, 
he  had  occasion  to  speak  with  cardinal  Fabio  Chigi,  who 
entertained  a  very  great  esteem  for  him,  of  which  he  af- 
terwards gave  him  signal  proofs.     When  the  tinie  of  his 
being  general  x)f  the  order  was  expired,  he  left  Rome,  and 
returning  to  Mondovi  in  order  to  profess  divinity,  cardinal 
Chigi,  who  was  chosen  pope  under  the  name  of  Alexander 
Vn.  appointed  our  author  general  of  the  order  again  of 
his  own  accord,  the  plague,  which  then  raged  in  many 
parts  of  Italy/  preventing  any  assembly  of  the  general 
chapter.     He  made  him  afterwards  consultor  of  the  con- 
gregation of  the  index,  and  then  qualificator  of  the  sacred 
office ;  which  place  he  resigned  for  that  of  consultor  in 
the  same  court.     The  pope,  who  had  a  particular  friend- 
ship for  him,  and  made  him  his  confident  in  all  his  secrets, 
would  have  raised  him  to  the  dignity  of  a  cardinal^  if  the 
humility  of  Bona  bad  not  prevented  him  from  accepting 


BONA.  39 

t 

it,  and  be  had  not  made  use  of  his  interest  with  the  pope 
in  order  to  avoid  it.  But  pope  Clement  IX.  his  successor, 
thought  himself  under  an  obligation  to  reward  his  virtues 
by  making  him  a  cardinal  the  29th  of  November,  accord- 
ing to  Moroti,  or  of  December,  according  to  Bertolot,  in 
1669.  Upon  the  death  of  this  pope,  cardinal  Bona  was 
proposed  to  be  elected  his  successor  ;  which  gave  occasion 
to  this  pasquinade.  Papa  Bona  sarebbe  solecisvio,  upon 
which  father  Daugieres,  the  Jesuit,  wrote  an  ingenious 
epigram,  which  our  Latin  readers  are  aware  will  not  bear 
a  translation  : 

Grammaticae  leges  plerumque  eedesia  spemit : 

Forte  erit  ut  liceat  dicere  Papa  Bona. 
Vana  soloecismi  ne  t^  conturbet  imago : 

Esset  Papa  bonus^  si  Bona  Papa  foret. 

He  died  at  Rome  the  20th  of  October,  according  to  Ber- 
tolot, or  the  28th  of  that  month,  according  to  Moroti,  in 
1674,  being  seventy-four  years  of  age.  He  directed  him- 
self, that  he  should  be  interred  in  the  monastery  of  his 
own  order,  called  St.  Bernard  at  the  Baths,  with  the  fol- 
lowing inscription  upon  his  tomb :  ^^  D.  O.  M.  Joannes 
Bona  Pedemontanus,  Congreg.Sancti  Bernardi  Monachus 
et  hujus  ecclesiae  translato  hue  titulo  S.  Salvatoris  in  Lauro, 
Primus  Presbyter  Cardinalis,  vivens  sibi  posuit.''  Baillet, 
Labbe,  and  Sallo,  bestow  high  praises  on  his  principal  work, 
^/  De  Divina  Psalmodia,  deque  variis  ritibus  omnium  ec- 
clesiarum  in  psallendis  Divinis  Officiis,''  Rome,  1663,  4to, 
which  includes  a  complete  history  of  church  music,  and 
has  been  often  celebrated  and  quoted  by  musical  writers. 
Yet  Dr.  Burney,  an  authority  of  great  importance  in  ques- 
tions of  this  kind,  informs  us  that  he  was  constantly  dis- 
appointed when  he  had  recourse  to  it  for  information,  as 
the  author  ^^  never  mounts  to  the  origin  of  any  use  that  has 
been  made  of  music  in  the  church,  or  acquaints  us  in  what 
it  consisted,"  and  appears  to  have  profited  vjesy  little  by 
the  information  which  at  that  time  must  have  been  within 
his  reach.  His  other  distinguished  work  was  "  Rerum  Li- 
turgicarum.  Lib.  duo,"  Rome,  1671,  foL  and  often  re- 
printed. The  best  edition  is  that  by  Sala,  printed  at  Tu- 
rin, in  3  vols.  4to,  1747 — 1753.  In  1755  Sala  addedv  an- 
other volume  of  Bona's  select  epistles  with  those  of  his 
correspondents.  The  rest  of  his  works  are  of  the  ascetic 
kind.     He  carried  on  a  controversy  for  some  time  with 


40  BONA. 

Mabillon  concerning  the  consecration  of  leavened  or  UQf 
leavetied  bread. ' 

BONAMY  (Peter-Nicholas),  a  French  antiquary  and 
miscellanjeous  writer,  was  born  at  Louvres,  in  the  district 
of  Paris,  in  1694,  and  educated  for  the  ecclesiastical  pro- 
fession ;  but,  devoting  himself  entirely  to  literature,  he 
became  under«librarian  of  St.  Victor,  and  distinguished 
both  by  the  politeness  of  his  manners,  and  the  variety  as 
well  as  assiduity  of  his  studies.  In  1727,  he  was  admitted 
a  member  of  the  academy  of  inscriptions  and  belles  lettres, 
and  made  many  valuable  contributions  to  its  memoirs.  His 
papers  are  characterised  by  simple  but  correct  language, 
variety  of  erudition,  clearness  of  argument,  and  solidity 
of  criticism.  At  the  instigation  of  M.  Turgot,  a  place  was 
created  of  historiographer  of  Paris,  and  Bonamy  being 
appoiuted  to  occupy  it,  was  led  to  write  various  memoirs 
relative  to  the  history  and  antiquities  of  the  city ;  and  on 
occasion  of  the  bequest  of  a  curious  library  to  the  city,  he 
was  made  librarian.  From  the  year  1747,  he  conducted  the 
"Journal  of  Verdun"  with  the  strictest  propriety  and  de- 
corum, and  indeed  in  every  thing  displayed  candour  and 
probity,  as  well  as  learning.     He  died  at  Paris  in  1770.  * 

BONANNI.  (PHiUP),  a  learned  Jesuit,  who  (died  at 
Rpme  in  1725,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven,  after  having 
honourably  filled  different  ppsts  in  his  order,  left  several 
works  of  various  kinds,,  principally  relating  to  natural  his- 
tory, which  was  his  favourite  pursuit.  He  was  engaged  in' 
1698  to  put  in  order  the  celebrated  cabinet  of  father  Kir- 
cher;  and  he  continued  to  employ  himself  in  that  business 
and  the  augmentation  of  \t  till  his  death.  The  chief  of  his 
works  are,  1.  "  Recreatio  mentis  et  oculi  in  observatione 
Animalium  Testaceorum,"  Rome,  1684,  4to,  with  near  500 
figures.  He  first  composed  this  book  in  Italian,  and  it  was 
printed  in  that  language  in  1681  in  4to;  and  translated  by 
the  author  into  Latin  for  the  benefit  of  foreigners.  2. 
*^  History  of  the  Church  of  the  Vatican  ;  with  the  plans 
both  antient  and  modern,''  Rome^  1696,  folio,  in  Latin. 
3.  "  Collection  of  the  Medals  of  the  popes,  from  Martin 
V.  to  Innocent  XII."  Rome,  1699,  2  vols.  fol.  in  Latin. 

>  Oejf),  Diet.— -Moreri. — ^Fabroni  Vitae  Italorum. — Baill«t  Jugemens  des  Sa? 
I'aos  r— Durney's  Hist,  of  Music,  vol.  11. 

«  J)i<'f.  Hifet. — Rees's  Cyclopaedia. — Saxii  Onomast.  where  U  a  list  of  his  11^ 
tciary  cuntribtitions. 


B  O  N  A  N  N  I.  41 

4.  '^  Catalogue  of  the  Orders^  Religious,  Military,  and 
Equestrian,  with  plates  representing  their  several  habili- 
meots,^'  in  Latin  and  in  Italian,  Rome,  1706, 1707, 17  in,  and 
1711,  4  vols.  4to.  The  plates  in  particular  render  thi^  last 
work  highly  interesting  and  much  in  request.  5.  "  Obser- 
vationes  cirga  viventia  in  non  viventibus,"  Rome,  1691, 
4to.  6.  ^^  Musffium  collegii  Romani  Kircherianum,''  Rome, 
1709,  fol.  7.  "A  Treatise  on  Varnishes,"  in  Italian,  Pa- 
ris, 1713,  12mo.     8.  Gabinetto  armonico,*'  1723,  4to.^ 

BONARELLI  (Guy  Ubaldo),  was  born  December  25, 
1563,  at  Urbino,  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  noble 
families  in  the  city  of  Ancona,  and  was  sent  into  Frslnce 
at  the  age  of  fifteen,  to  be  educated  suitably  to  his  birth 
and  the  customs  of  that  time.  Bonarelli  was  but  nineteen 
when  he  was  offered  a  philosophical  professorship  of  the 
Sorbonne,  in  the  college  of  Calvi ;  but,  his  father  having 
sent  for  him  home,  he  was  satisfied  with  having  merited 
that  honour,'  and  declined  accepting  it.  He  attached  him- 
self, for  some  time,  to  cardinal  Frederick  Borromeo  (ne- 
phew of  St.  Charles  Borromeo)  who  had  a  regard  for  men 
of  letters,  and  who  founded  the  famous  Ambrosian  library 
at  Milan.  He  went  afterwards  to  Modena,  to  which  place 
his  father  had  removed.  After  his  death,  the  duke  Al- 
phonso,  knowing  the  merit  oJF  Bonarelli,  employed  him  in 
several  important  embassies,  and  the  success  of  these  ne- 
goci^tions  proved  how  well  they  had  been  carried  on. 
Bonarelli  went  to  Rome  with  the  hope  of  recovering  the 
marquisate  of  Orciano,  of  which  his  father  had  been  de- 
prived ;  but  an  attack  of  the  gout  obliged  him  to  stop  at 
Fano,  where  he  died  January  8,  1608,  aged  forty -five,* 
with  the  character  of  an  able  politician,  a  distinguished 
bel  esprit,  and  a  good  philosopher  for  the  age  he  lived  in. 
The  pastoral  poem  for  which  he  is  best  known  is  entitled 
^^  Filli  di  Sciro,'*  and  was  printed  first  at  Ferrara,  1607, 
4to,  with  plates  :  there  have  been  many  editions  since,  the 
best  of  which  are  that  of  the  Elzevirs,  1678,  4to,  those  of 
London,  1725,  or  1728,  and  of  Glasgow,  1763,  8vo  ;  but 
with  ail  its  merit  it  is  full  of  unnatural  characters  and  dis- 
torted conceits.  His  shepherds  are  courtiers,  and  his  shep- 
herdesses are  frequently  prudes,  whose  conversation  fa- 
vours of  the  toilette.  The  author  was  censured  for  having- 
made  Celia^  who  has  so  great  a  share  in  the  piece,  nothing 

1  Diet.  Hist.— Maoget  Bibl.  Med. 


42  B  O  N  A  R  B  L  L  I. 

ifxoxe  than  an  episodical  personage,  but  still  more  for  giv« 
ing  her  an  equally  ardent  love  for  two^  shepherds  at  once. 
He  attempted  to  excuse  this  defect  in  a  tract  written  on 
purpose ;  ^^  Discorsi  in  difesa  del  doppio  amore  della  sua 
Celia,"  but  this  was  rather  ingenious  than  conclusive.  We 
have  likewise  some  academical  discourses  of  his.  ^ 

BONASONE  (Julius),  called  sometimes  Bolognese, 
from  the  place  of  his  birth,  flourished  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, and  is  better  known  as  an  engraver  than  as  a  painter. 
He  is  supposed,  but  without  sufficient  authority,  to  have 
beeji  a  scholar  of  Sabbatini.     Some  remaining  oil-pictures 
of  bis^  on  canvas,  which  are,  in  general,  weak,  and  of  dif- 
ferent styles,  make  it  probable,  says  Lanzi,  that  he  re- 
solved to  be  a  painter  when  he  had  passed  youth.     There 
is,  however,  in  the  church  of  St.  Stephano,  in  Bologna, 
a  Purgatory  of  his,  which  has  great  beauties,  and  is  sus- 
pected to  have  been  done  with  the  assistance  of  Sabbatini. 
As  an  engraver,  he  worked  from  tjie  pictures  of  Raphael, 
Julio  Romano,  and  other  great  masters ;  and  occasionally 
from  his  own  designs.     Mr.  Strutt's  opinion  is,  that  ex- 
cepting one  or  two  subjects,  in  which  he  called  in  the 
assistance  of  the  point  (the  use  of  which,  however,  he  ne- 
ver well  understood),  his  plates  are  executed  chiefly  with 
the  graver,  in  a  manner  though  much  varied  from  that  of 
his  tutor.  Marc  Antonio  Raiifiondi,  yet  evidently  founded 
upon  it,  although  neither  so  firm,  clear,  or  masterly.     His 
drawing  is  often  heavy,  and  the  extremities  of  his  figures 
frequently  neglected;  the  folds  of  his  draperies  are  seldom 
well  expressed,  and  the  back  grounds  to  his  prints,  espe- 
cially his  landscapes,  are  extremely  flat  and  stiff.  However, 
with  all  these  faults  (which  are  not  always  equally  conspi- 
cuous), his   best  prints  possess   an   uncommon  share  of 
merit;  and  though  not  equal  to  those  of. his  master,  are 
deservedly  held  in  no  small  degree  of  estimation  by  the 
greatest  collectors.     Bonasone  has  lately  found  an  inge- 
nious and  able  advocate  in  George  Cumberland,  esq.  who, 
in  1793,  published  *^  Some  Anecdotes'*  of  his  life,  with  a 
catalogue  of  his  engravings,  &c.  * 

BONA  VENTURE  (John  Fidauza),  a  celebrated  doc- 
tor^, cardinal,  and  saint  of  the  church  of  Rome,  was  born 
^t  Bagnarea  in  Tuscany,  1221.     He  was  admitted  into  the 

*  Moreri. — ^Erythraei  Pinac. — ^Baillet  Jugemens  des  Savaiut. 
9  Pilkin^^ton.— Struts,— Cunoberland,  as  above. 


I 
I 


BONAVeNTURE.  45 

order  of  St.  Francis,  about  1243 ;  and  studied  diviuity  at 
the  university  of  Paris  under  the  celebrated  Alexander  de 
Hales,  with  so  much  success,  that  at  the  end  of  seven 
years  he  was  thought  worthy  to  read  public  lectures  upon 
the  Sentences.     He  was  created  doctor  in  1255  along  with 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  and  the  year  after  appointed  general 
of  his  order,  in  which  office  he  governed  with  so  much 
zeal  and  prudence,  that  he  perfectly  restored  the  discipline 
of  it,  which  had  been  greatly  neglected.  Pope  Clement  IV. 
nominated  him  to  the  archbishopric  of  York  in  England  ; 
but  Bonaventure  disinterestedly  refused  it.  After  the  d#ath 
of  Clement  the  see  of  Rome  lay  vacant  almost  three  years, 
and  the  cardinals  not  being  able  to  agree  among  themselves 
who  should  be  pope,  came  at  length  to  a  most  solemn  en- 
gagement,  to  leave  the  choice  to  Bonaventure ;  and  to 
elect  whoever  he  should  name,  though  it  should  be  even 
bimself,  which,  from  his  modest  character,  was  not  very 
probable.     Accordingl}'^,  he  named  Theobald,  archdeacon 
of  Liege,  who  was  at  that  time  in  the  Holy  land,  and  who 
took  the  title  of  Gregory  X.     By  this  pope  he  was  made  a 
cardinal  and  bishop  of  Albano ;  and  appointed  to  assist  at 
a  general  council,  which  was  held  at  Lyons  soon  after.    He 
died  there  in  1274,  and  was  magnificently  and  honourably 
conducted  to  his  grave ;  the  pope  and  whole  council  at-> 
tending,  and  the  cardinal  Peter  of  Tarantais,  afterwards 
pope  Innocent  V.  making  his  funeral  oration.     Sixtus  IV, 
canonized  him  in  1482.     He  has  had  the  good  fortune  to 
be  almost  equally  praised  by  popish  and  protestant  writers., 
Bellarmine  has  pronounced  Bonaventure  a  person  dear  to 
God  and  men  ;   and  Luther  calls  him  '^  vir  prastantissU 
muSj'*  a  most  excellent  man.     His  works  were  printed  at 
Rome  in  1588,  ia  8  vols,  folio.     Excepting  his  commen* 
tary  upon  the  master  of  the  Sentences,  they  are  chiefly  on 
pious  and  mystical  subjects,  and  have  gained  him  the  name 
of  the   Seraphic  doctor.     Brucker  gives  us  the  following 
account  of  his  method  of  philosophizing,  from  his  treatise 
"  De  reductione  Artium  ad  Theologiam;"  on  the  *' appli- 
cation of  Learning  to  Theology  ;"    Human  knowledge  he 
divides  into  three  branches,  logical,  physical  and  moral. 
Each  of  these  he  considers  as  the  effect  of  supernatural 
illumination,  and  as   communicated  to  men  through  the 
mediam  of  the  holy  scriptures.     The  whole  doctrine  of 
scripture  he  reduces  to  three  heads ;  that  which  respects 
the  eternal  g.eneration  and  incarnation  of  Christ,  the  study 


44  BONAVENTURE. 

of  which  is  the  peculiar  province  of  the  doctors  of  the 
church  ;  that  whicli  concerns  the  conduct  of  life,  which  is 
the  subject  of  preaching;  and  that  which  relates  to  the 
union  of  the  soul  with  God,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  mo* 
nastic  and  contemplative  life.  Physical  knowledge  he  ap^ 
plies  to  jbhe  doctrine  of  scripture  emblematically.  For  ex- 
ample,  the  production  of  the  idea  of  any  sensible  object 
frpin  its  archet3rpe,  is  a  type  of  the  generation  of  the  Logos ; 
the  right  exercise  of  the  senses  typifies  the  virtuous  con- 
duct of  lif|8 ;  and  the  pleasure  derived  from  the  senses  re^ 
presents  the  union  of  the  soul  with  God.  In  like  manner, 
logical  philosophy  furnishes  an  emblem  of  the  eternal 
generation  and  the  incarnation  of  Christ :  a  word  con- 
ceived in  the  mind  resembling  the  eternal  generation ;  its 
expression  in  vocal  sounds,  the  incarnation.  Thus  the 
multiform  wisdom  of  God,  according  to  this  mystical  wri- 
ter, lies  concealed  through  all  nature;  and  all  human 
knowledge  may,  by  the  help  of  allegory  and  analogy,  be 
spiritualised  and  transferred  to  theology.  How  wid^  s^ 
door  this  method  of  philosophising  opens  to  the  absurdities 
of  mysticism  the  reader  will  easily  perceive  from  this  spe? 
cimen.  * 

BONAVENTURE  of  Padua,  a  cardinal,  was  born  it^ 
that  city  June  22,  1332,  and  descended  from  a  noble  and 
illustrious  family.  He  studied  divinity  at  Paris,  whe^re  he 
distinguished  himself  by  his  uncommon  parts  and  applica- 
tion, and  afterwards  taught  divinity.  He  was  of  the  order 
-  of  St.  Augustin,  of  which  he  was  made  general  in  1377,  on 
the  death  of  Beauregard.  Pope  Urban  VI.  gave  him  a 
cardinal's  cap  the  year  after,  or  as  some  say,  in  1384. 
This  engaging  him  to  stand  up  for  the  rights  of  the  church 
against  Francis  de  Carrario  of  Padua,  that  petty  tyrant 
contrived  to  have  him  murdered.  He  was  dispatched  with 
the  shot  of  an  arrow,  as  he  was  passing  St.  Angelo's  bridge 
at  Rome.  This  event  some  place  in  1385,  others  in  1389, 
1396,  and  1398.  The  manner  of  his  death  gave  occasion 
to  the  following  Latin  distich,  which  cannot  be  translated 
so  as  to  be  intelligible  to  an  English  reader  : 

'^  Qam  Bona  tarn  cupide  coelo  vbntura  rogabas. 
In  te  livoris  missa  sagitta  dedit.** 

.  He  was  the  author  of  several  works :  as.  Commentaries 
upon  the  Epistles  of  St.  John  and  St.  James,  Lives  of  the 

*  Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints. — Dupio. — Cave,  vol.  II.-^Fabric.  Bibl.  Lat. 
Med.— 'Bruckeip. — Freheri  Theatrum.— SaxiiOnomastJcoo. 


BONAVENTURE.  45 

Saints,  Sermons,  &c.  Some  improperly  attribute  to  bion 
the  "  Speculum  de  laudibus  B.  Mariae,"  Nuremberg^  1476 ; 
but  Fabricius  gives  it  to  the  preceding  cardinal,  in  whose 
works  it  appears,  vol.  VI.  He  had  a  very  close  and  inti- 
mate friendship  with  the  celebrated  Petrarch,  whose  fune- 
ral oration  he  pronounced  in  1369.  ^ 

BONAVENTURE.     See  GIRAUDAU. 

BONCIARIUS  (Mark  Anthony),  a  distinguished  La- 
tin scholar  and  poet,  was  born  at  Perugia  in  1555,  became 
a  disciple  of  the  celebrated  Muretus,  and  afterwards  prin- 
cipal teacher  of  the  schools  of  Perugia.  He  appears  next 
to  have  been  professor  of  eloquence  at  Bouonia,  keeper 
of  the  Ambrosian  library,  and  professor  of  rhetoric  at  Pisa, 
where  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  sight.  During  his 
career  of  teaching,  his  father,  who  was  a  poor  shoemaker^ 
having  lost  his  wife,  had  an  inclination  to  join  the  society 
of  the  Jesuits,  and  lest  he  should  be  rejected  for  his  igno- 
rance of  Latin,  became  one  of  .his  son's  scholars,  and  made 
very  considerable  proficiency.  Bonciarius  died  Jan.  9, 
1616,  leaving  many  works,  which  are  very  scarce,  except 
bis  Latin  Grammar,  which,  being  adopted  in  the  schools, 
was  frequently  reprinted.  Hi^  "  Epistojae**  were  first 
printed  in  1603,  8vo,  and  reprinted  1604,  at  Marpurg,  of 
which  last  edition  Freytag  gives  an  analytical  account. 
They  are  written  in  an  elegant  style.  His  Latin  poems 
are  among  the  *^  Carmina  Poetarum  Italorum,'*  Florence, 
J  7 1 9,  vol.  n. ' 

BOND  (Jojhn),  a  celebrated  commentator  and  gram- 
marian, was  born  in  Somersetshire  in  1550.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Winchester  school,  and  in  1569  was  entered  a 
student  at  New  college  in  Oxford,  where  he  became 
highly  esteemed  for  his  academical  learning.  In  1578  he 
took  the  degree  of  B.  A.  and  in  1579  that  of  M.  A.  and 
soon  after  the  warden  and  fellows  of  his  college  appointed 
him  master  of  the  free-school  of  Taunton  in  Somersetshire. 
Here  he  continued  many  years,  and  several  of  his  scholars 
became  eminent  both  in  church  and  state.  Being  at 
length,  however,  tired  with  the  fatigue  of  this  irksome 
^employment,  he  turned  his  thoughts  to  the  study  of  physic, 
and  practised  it  with  great  reputation,  although  without 
taking  any  degree  in  that  Acuity.     He  died  at  Taunton  the 

*  Dapin.—'Moreri.— Fabric.  Bibl.  Med.  et  Infim.  Latin, 
s  Freytag.  Adparat   Litt — ^Moreri.— Erythrai  Pinacotheca,— -Gen.  Diet.— 
iazU..Oiioiiiaati 


46  BOND. 

3d  of  August)  1612,  and  was  buried  in  the  chancel  of  the 
church,  with  the  following- epitaph  over  his  grave  : 

Qui  medicus  doctus^  prudentis  nomine  clarus, 

Eloquii  splendor^  Pieridumque  decus^ 
Yirtutis  cultor,  pietatis  vixit  amicu»> 

Hie  jacet  in  tumulo  -,  spiritus  alta  tenet. 

Mr.  Bond  has  left  "  Annotationes  in  po^mata  Quinti 
Horatii,''  Lond.  1606,  8vo.  Han.  1621,  8vo,  and  Ley  den, 
1653,  8vo.  The  best  edition  is  that  of  Amst.  1636,  12ino. 
His  Persius  was  not  printed  till  two  years  after  his  death, 
iu  8vo,  under  the  following  title,  **  Auli  Persii  Flacci  Sa- 
tyrdB  sex,  cum  posthumis  commentariis  Johannis  Bond,^* 
1614,  8vo.  It  was  published  by  Roger  Prowse,  who  h#d 
married  his  daughtei"  Elizabeth,  and  who,  in  the  dedication 
to  Dr.  Montague,  bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  informs  us, 
that  his  father-in-law  had  not  put  the  last  hand  to  these 
Commentaries ;  which  may  be  the  reason  of  those  con- 
siderable defects  in  some  points  of  history  and  philosophy 
which  are  to  be  found  in  them.  Mr.  Wood  is  of  opinion 
that,  besides  these,  he  wrote  several  other  pieces,  which 
were  never  published.  * 

BOND  (John),  LL.  D.  was  the  son  of  DeiTnis  Bond, 
esq.  of  Dorchester,  a  violent  adherent  of  the  republican 
party  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  at  whose  death,  a 
little  before  that  of  the  protector,  the  wits  said  Oliver 
Cromwell  had  given  the  devil  Bond  for  his  appearance. 
Our  author  was  educated  under  John  White,  commonly 
called  the  patriarch  of  Dorchester,  and  was  afterwards  en- 
tered, not  of  St.  John's  college,  Cambridge,  as  Wood  re- 
ports, but  of  Catherine-hall,  of  which  he  was  afterwards 
chosen  fellow,  and  took  the  degree  of  B.  A.  in  16SI,  com- 
menced M.  A.  in  1635,  was  nominated  LL.  D.  in  164i?, 
and  completed  the  year  following,  while  he  was  yet  a  mem- 
ber of  that  society.  But,  although  he  took  his  doctor's  de- 
gree in  law,  he  was  by  profession  a  divine,  and  had  before 
this  preached  for  some  years,  first  as  a  lecturer  in  Exeter, 
and  frequently  afterwards  before  the  long  parliament  at 
Westminster.  In  1643,  both  he  and  his  tutor,  Mr.  White, 
were  chosen  of  the  assembly  of  divines ;  and  when  Mr. 
White  took  the  rectory  of  Lambeth,  Dr.  Bond  succeeded 
him  as  minister  of  the  Savoy,  and  on  Dec.  11,  1645,  he 
was  made  master  of  the  Savoy  hospital  under  the  great 

»  Blog.  Brit— Wood's  AUi.  vol.  I.— Birch's  Life  of  Prince  Henry,  p.  73, 


BOND.  47 

seal.  On  the  decease  of  Dr.  Eden,  master  of  Trinity- hall,' 
Cambridge,  the  fellows  made  choice  of  the  celebrated 
Selden,  and  the  choice  was  confirmed  by  parliament,  but 
be  dechning  the  office,  Dr.  Bond  was  chosen,  chiefly  by 
the  authority  or  interference  of  parhament,  March,  1646. 
In  1649  he  was  chosjen  law  professor  of  Gresham  college, 
and  in  1654  was  made  assistant  to  the  commissioners  of 
Middlesex  and  Wesminster,  for  the  ejection  of  scandalous 
and  ignorant  ministers;  and  in  1653  served  as  vice-chan- 
cellor of  Cambridge.  He  held  his  mastership  and  law 
professorship  until  the  restoration,  when  he  was  ejected 
from  both  for  his  adherence  to  the  politics  by  which  he 
had  obtained  them.  He  then  retired  into  Dorsetshire,  and 
died  at  Sandwich  in  the  isle  of  Purbeck,  July  1676. 
Wood,  who  has  committed  several  mistakes  in  his  life, 
corrected  by  Dr.  Ward,  gives  a  list  of  his  works,  which 
are  few:  1.  "A  Door  of  Hope,"  Lond.  1641,  4to.  2. 
**  Holy  and  Loyal  Activity,*'  Lond.  1641,  4to,  and  some 
sermons  preached  before  the  long  parliament,  to  whose 
measures  be  adhered  with  great  zeal.  He  appears,  h'ow- 
ever,  to  have  been  a  man  of  i*eal  learning.  Calamy,  we 
know  not  why,  has  mentioned  his  name,  without  one  word 
of  life.* 

BOND  (William),  a  native  of  Suffolk,  translated  Bu- 
chanan's history,  and  was  concerned  with  AaVon  Hill  in 
the  "  Plain  Dealer,"  a  periodical  paper  of  inferior  merit. 
Hill  appears  to  have  had  a  friendship  for  him,  and  devoted 
the  profits  of  his  tragedy  of  Zara  to  his^use.  Bond  him- 
self played  the  character  of  Lusignan,  but  only  for  one 
nigh^  being  seized  with  a  fit  on  the  stage,  which  ter- 
minated his  life  the  following  morning,  some  time  in  1735.  ^ 

BONEFACIO,or  BONIFAZIO,  called  VENEZIANO, 
whom  Ridolfi  believes  to  have  been  a  scholar  of  Palma, 
but  Boschini  numbers  among  the  disciples  of  Titian, 
and  says  he  followed  him  as  the  shadow  the  body.  He  is, 
indeed,  often  his  close  imitatpr,  but  oftener  has  a  charac- 
ter of  his  own,  a  free  and  creative  genius,  unborrowed 
elegance  and  spirit.  The  public  offices  at  Venice  abound , 
in  pictures  all  his  own,  and  the  ducal  palace,  amongst 
others,  possesses  an  Expulsion  of  the  Publicans  from  the 
Temple,  which  for  copiousness  of  composition,  colour,' 
^nd  admirable  perspective,  might  be  alone  sufficient  t^ 

1  Ward's  Lives  of  the  Gresham  Professors.— Wood's  Ath.  vol.  I. 
9  Bioip.  Dram, 


48  B  O  N  E  F  A  C  I  O. 

make  his  name  immortal,  had'  bis  own  tiiifes  and  record 
not  plained  him  with  Titian  and  Palma.  Lanzi  ascribes  to 
Bonifazio,  what  he  styles  the  celebrated  pictures  from  the 
'Triumphs  of  Petrarch,  once  at  Naples  in  a  private  collec- 
tion, and  now,  he  says,  in  Engliand  ;  it  matters  little,  says  Mr. 
Fuseli,  where  they  are  :  of  powers,  such  as  he  ascribes  ta 
Bonifazio,  those  meagre^  dry,  and  worse  than  Peruginesque 
performances,  can  never  be  the  produce.  He  died  in 
1553,  aged  sixty-two.  ^ 

BONEFONIUS.     See  BONNEFONS. 

BONET,  or  BONNET  (Theophilus),  an  eminent  phy- 
sician and  medical  writer,  was  born  at  Geneva,  March  5, 
1620,  and  following  the  steps  of  his  father  and  grandfather^ 
early  attached  himself  to  the  practice  of  physic.  After  vi- 
siting several  foreign  academies,  he  was  admitted  doctor 
in  medicine  at  Bologna,  in  1643,  and  was  soon  after  made 
physician  to  the  duke  de  Longueville.  Though  he  soon 
attained  to  high  credit  in  his  profession,  and  bad  a  large 
share  of  practice,  he  dedicated  a  considerable  portion  of 
his  time  to  reading,  and  to  dissecting  such  subjects  as  the 
hospital  afforded  him,  with  a  view  qf  discovering  the  seat» 
of  diseases,  minuting  every  deviation  he  observed  from  the 
natural  structure;  of  the  viscera,  or  other  parts  of  the  bodyy 
and  thus  opening  a  new  road  for  improving  the  science  be 
cultivated.  He  also  appears  to  have  made  extracts  of  every 
thing  he  deemed  worthy  of  notice,  from  the  various  works 
he  read.  His  hearing  from  some  accident  becoming  de- 
fective, he  withdrew  from  practice,  and  employed  the  last 
ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  life  in  arranging  the  materials  he 
had  collected.  The  first  fruit  of  his  labour,  which  he  gave 
to  the  public  in  1668,  was  "  Pharos  Medicorum,"  2  vols, 
12mo.  This  was  printed  again,  much  improved  and  en- 
larged, in  1679,  in  4to,  under  the  title  of  "  Labyrinthi 
Medici,  extricati,^'  &c.  compiled  principally  from  Bellonius 
and  Septalius.  In  1675,  ^*  Prodromus  Anatomise  practical, 
sive  de  abditis  morborum  causis,"  fol. ;  the  precursor  of 
his  principal  work,  "  Sepulchretum,  seu  Anatome  practica, 
ex  cadaveribus  morbo  denatis  proponens  historias  et  obser- 
vationes,"  &c.  Genev.  1679,  2  vols*  fol.  which  far  exceeded 
the  expectation  raised  by  the  Prodromus.  It  was  enlarged 
hy  nearly  a  third  part,  and  republished  by  Manget,  ^700,  2 
Tpls.  fol.  and  was  afterwards  taken  by  Morgagni,  as  the  basis 
•f  his  work,  "  De  sedibus  et  causis  Morborum,"  by  which 

j  PUkiD|fton« 


B  O  N  E  T.  49 

the  "  Sepnlcbretum"  is  in  a  great  measure  superseded. 
The  author  begins  with  observations  on  the  appearances  of 
the  brain  and  other  parts  of  the  bead ;  then  of  the  con- 
teats  of  the  thorax,  abdomen^  and  pelvis ;  and  lastly,  of 
the  extremities ;  forming  an  immense  body  of  dissections, 
which  he  has  illustrated  by  many  pertinent  and  ingenious 
observations.  **  Cours  de  medicine,  et  de  la  chirurgie," 
1679,  2  vols.  4to.  An  epitome  of  the  art  of  surgery,  with 
some  sections  relating  to  the  practice  of  medicine  selected 
from  the  most  accredited  authors  of  the  age.  *^  Medicina 
septentrionalis,  coUectitia,''  1684,  2  vols.  foi.  shewing  how 
largely  the  practitioners  of  the  northern  parts  of  Europe, 
Sweden,  Denmark,  Germany,  Holland,  and  England,  have 
contributed  to  the  improvement  of  anaton^y,  surgery,  and 
medicine,  by  extracts  and  accounts  of  the  works  of  the 
principal  writers  of  those  countries.  '^  Mercurius  compi* 
latitius,  seu  index  medico-practicus,''  1682,  fol.  A  most 
useful  work,  shewing  under  the  name  of  every  disease  or 
affection  where  cases  or  observations  may  be  found,  and 
what  authors  have  written  upon  them.  Such  an  index 
continued  to  the  present  time,  though  very  voluminous, 
would  be  highly  useful.  Bonet  also  published  *^  Epi- 
tome operum  Sennerti,"  1685,  fol.  "J.  D.  Turqueti  de 
Mayerne,  de  Aithritide,"  1671,  12mo,  and  **  Rohaulti  trac- 
tatus  physicus,  e  Gallico  in  Latinam  versus,"  1675,  8vo. 
He  died  of  a  dropsy,  March  3,   1 689.  * 

BONFADIO  (JaMes),  an  elegant  Italian  scholar  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  was  born  at  Gorzano  in  the  Brescian 
territory,  but  in  what  year  is  not  known.  He  was  three 
years  secretary  to  cardinal  Bari  at  Rome;  but  lost  the 
fruits  of  his  services  by  the  death  of  his  master.  He  then 
served  cardinal  Glinucci  in  the  same  capacity ;  but  ion^ 
sickness  made  him  incapable  of  that  employment.  When 
he  was  recovered,  he  found  himself  so  disgusted  with  the 
court,  that  he  resolved  to  seek  his  fortune  by  other  means* 
He  continued  a  good  while  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  then 
went  to  Padua,  and  to  Genoa;  where  he  read  public  lee- 
tures  on  Aristotle's  politics.  He  was  ordered  to  read  some 
likewise  upon  his  rhetoric,  which  he  did  with  great  suc- 
cess to  a  numerous  auditory.  His  reputation  increasing 
daily,  the  republic  of  Genoa  made  him  their  historio- 
grapher, and  assigned  him  a  handsome  pension  for  ;that 

>  Haller  BiM,  Med.—Mang^t. — ^R«es's  Cyclopwdia. — Moreri. 

Vol.  VI.  E 


so  B  O  N  F  A  D  I  O. 

office.     He  now  applied  himself  laboriously  to  compose' 
the  annals  of  that  state,  and  published  the  five  first  books  ; 
^   but  by  speaking  too  freely  and  satirically  of  some  families, 
he  created  himself  enemies  who  resolved  to  ruin  him,  by  a 
prosecution  for  an  unnatural  crime,  and  being  convicted, 
he  was  condemned  to  be  first  beheaded,  and  then  burnt, 
or  as  some  say,  sentence  of  burning  was  changed  into  that 
of  beheading.     Some  have  attributed  this  prosecution  to 
the  freedom  of  his  pen  ;  but  the  generality  of  writers  have 
agreed  that  Bonfadio  was  guilty,  yet  are  of  opinion,  that 
be  had  never  been  accused,  if  he  had  not  given  offence  by 
something  else.     He  was  executed  in  1560.     Upon  the 
day  of  his  execution  he  wrote  a  note  to  John  Baptist  Gri* 
maldi,  to  testify  his  gratitude  to  the  persons  who  had  en-» 
deavoured  to  serve  him,  and  recommended  to  them  his 
nephew  Bonfadio,    who  is  perhaps  the  Peter  Bonfadio, 
author  of  some  verses  extant  in  the  ^'  Gareggiamento  poe* 
tico  del  confuso  accademico  ordito,^'  a  collection  of  verses, 
divided  into  eight  parts,  and  printed  at  Venice  in  1611. 
The  first  five  books  of  Bonfadio's  history  of  Genoa  were 
printed  at  Padua,  1586,  4to,  under  the  title  "  I.  Bonfadii 
annales  Genuensium  ab  anno  1528,  ubi  desinit  Folieta,  ad 
annum  1550,"  and  was  in  1597  published  in  Italian.     He 
also  published  an  Italian  and  very  elegant  translation  of 
Cicero's  oration  for  Milo,  an  edition  of  which  was  pub«* 
lished  at  Bologna  in  1744,  with  his  letters  and  miscella- 
neous works,  '^  Lettere  famigliari,  &c."  8vo,  dedicated  to 
pope  Benedict  XIV.  with  a  life  of  the  unfortunate  author, 
and  a  curious  Latin  poem  by  Paul  Manutius,  in  honour  of 
those  persons  who  used  their  interest  to  save  Bonfadio 
from  punishment.  ^ 
''BONFINIUS  (Anthony),  an  historian  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  was  born  at  Ascoli  in  Italy.     Mathias  CorviniiSj^ 
king  of  Hungary,  having  heard  of  his  abilities  and  learn- 
ing, sent  for  him  to  his  court,  and  Bonfinius  paid  his  re* 
spects  to  him  at  Rees,  a  few  days  before  that  prince  made 
bis  public  entry  into  Vienna.     At  his  first  audience,  as  he 
bimself  tells  us,  he  presented  him  with  his  translations  of 
Hermogenes  and  Herodian,  and  his  genealogy  of  the  Cor* 
vini,  which  he  dedicated  to  his  majesty ;  and  two  other 
works  addressed  to  the  queen,  one  of  which  treated  of  vir* 
ginity  and  conjugal  chastity,  and  the  other  was  a  history  of 

>  Oen.  DicU— M oreri.-— Saxii  Onomast 


B  O  N  F  I  N  1  US.  SI 

Afi^oli.     He  had  dedicated  also  a  small  collection  of  epi- 
grams to  the  young  prince  John  Corvinus,  to  which  there 
is  added  a  preface.     The  king  read  bis  pieces  with  great 
pleasure,  distributed  them  among  his   courtiers  in  high 
terms  of  approbation,  and  would  not  allow  him  to  return 
to  Italy,  but  granting  him  a  good  pension,  was  desirous 
that  he  should  follow  him  in  bis  army.     He  employed  hini 
to  write  the  history  of  the  Huns,  and  Bonfinius  accordingly 
set  about  it  before  the  death  of  this  prince;  but  it  was  by 
order  of  king  Uladislaus  that  he  wrote  the  general  history 
of  Hungary,  and  carried  it  down  to  1495.     The  original 
of  this  work  was  deposited  in  the  library  of  Buda.    In  i  543 
Martin  Brentier  published  thirty  books  from  an  imperfect 
copy,  which  Sambucus  republished  in   1568,  «in  a  more 
correct  state,  and  with  the  addition  of  fifteen  more  books, 
a  seventh  edition  of  which  was  printed  at  Leipsic,  in  1771, 
fol.    Sambucus  also  published  in  1572  Bonfinius's  ^'  Sym* 
posion  Beatricis,  seu  dialog,  de  fide  conjugali  eb  virginitate, 
lib.  III."     Bopfihius  wro,te  a  history  of  the  taking  of  Bel- 
grade by  Mahomet  IL  in  1456,  which  is  printed  in  the 
"  Syndromus  rerum   Turcico-Pannonicarum,"    Francfort, 
1627, 4to;  and,  as  already  noticed,  translated  the  works  of 
Philostratus,  Hermogenes,  and  Herodian.     His  Latin  style 
was  much  admired,  as  a  successful  imitation  of  the  ancients. 
The  time  of  his  death  has  not  been  ascertained.  * 

BONFRERIUS  (James),  a  learned  Jesuit  and  com- 
meutator,  was  born  at  Dioau  in  Liege,  1573.  He  was 
admitted  into  the  society  of  Jesuits  in  1592,  and  taught  at 
Doway,  philosophy,  divinity,  and  the  Hebrew  tongue, 
which,  as  well  as  Greek,  he  understood  criticklly.  He 
died  at  Tournay,  May  9,  1643.  Dupin  says  that  of  all  the. 
Jesuits  who  have  been  commentators  on '  the  scriptures, 
there  is  no  one  superior  in  learning,  and  clearness  of  me-> 
tliod,  to  Bonfrerius.  His  "  Commentary  on  the  Penta- 
teuch*' was  published  at  Antwerp  in  1625>  and  his  ^^  Ono* 
masticon"  of  the  places  and  cities  mentioned  in  the  Bible, 
composed  by  Eusebius^  and  translated  by  Jerome,  with 
learned  notes^  was  published  along  with  his  '^  Commen* 
taries  on  Joshua,  Judges,  and  Ruth,"  at  Paris  in  163],  but 
the  most  complete  edition  of  his  works  appeared  in  1 736.  * 

BONGARS  (James),  an  able  classical  scholar  and  nego- 
tiator, was  born  at  Orleans  of  a  protestant  family  in  1554  ^ 

\  Gen.  Dict—^Moreri.^'sS'axii  Onomast 

*  MorerL— J>iipiii«— I^oppen  BibL  Belg.*— Saxti  Onomast 

S  2 


52  B  O  N  G  A  R  S. 

and  studied  at  Strasburgin  1571,  but  in  1576^  he  studied 
the  civil  law  under  the  celebrated  Ciijacius.     During  this 
time  he  applied  much  to  critical  learning ;  and  though^ 
says  Bayle,  he  went  not  so  far  as  the  Lipsiuses  and  Casau- 
bons,  yet  he  acquired  great  reputation,  and  perhaps  would 
have  equalled  them  if  he  had  not  been  engaged  in  poli- 
tical affairs.     He  was  employed  near  thirty  years  in  the 
most  important  negociations  of  Henry  IV.  for  whom  he 
was  several  times  resident  with  the  princes  of  Germany, 
and  afterwards  ambassador,    but   however   published   his 
edition  of  Justin  at  Paris,   1581,  in  8vo.     He  had  a  critical 
and  extensive  knowledge  of  books,  both  manuscript  and 
printed  ;  and  made  a  very  great  collection  of  them,  some 
of  which  came  afterwards  to  the  library  of  Berne  in  Swis-^ 
serland,  and  some,  with  his  manuscripts,  to  the'  Vatican* 
Besides  an  edition  of  Justin,  he  was  the  author  of  other 
works ;  which,  if  they  did  not  shew  his  learning  so  much, 
have  spread  his  fame  a  great-deal  more.     Thuaous  highly 
commends  an  answer,  which  he  published  ip  Germany,  to 
a  piece  wherein  the  bad  success  of  the  expedition  of  1587 
was  imputed  to  the  French,  who  accompanied  the  Ger- 
mans ;  and  the  world  is  indebted  to  him  for  the  publication 
of  several  authors,  who  wrote  the  history  of  the  expeditions 
into  Palestine.     That  work  is  entitled  ^^  Gesta  Dei  per 
Francos;^'  and  was  printed  at  Hanau  in  1611,  in  two  vo- 
lumes,  folio.     He   published  also  in   1j600,  at  Francfort, 
<*  Aerum  Hungaricarum  Scriptores,"  fol.     There  are  let- 
ters of  Bongars,  written  during  his  employments,  which 
are  much  esteemed  ;  and  upon  which  Mr.  Bayle  remarks, 
that  though -he  did  not,  like  Bembo  and  Manucius,  reject 
all  terms  that  are  not  in  the  best  Roman  authors,  yet  bis 
style  is  elegant.     Hi«  letters  were  translated,  when  the 
dauphin  began  to  learn  the  Latin  language  ;  and  it  appears 
by  the  epistle  dedicatory  to  that  young  prince,  and  by  the 
translator's  preface,  that  nothing  was  then  thought  more 
proper  for  a  scholar  of  quality,  than  to  read  this  work  of 
Bongars.     Bongars  died  at  Paris  in  1612,  when  he  was  58 
years  of  dge:  and  the  learned  Casaubon,  whose  letters 
shew  that  be  esteemed  him  much,  laments  in  one  of  them, 
that  ^'  the  funeral  honours,  which  were  due  to  his  great 
merit,  and  which  he  would  infallibly  have  received  from 
the  learned  in  Germany,  were  not  yet  paid  him  at  Paris.'* 
Mr.  Bayle  thinks  that  Bongars  was  never  married  :  yet  tells 
us,  that  he  was  engaged  in  1597,  to  a  French  lady,  who 
had  the  misfortune  to  die  upon  the  very  day  appointed  for 


B  O  N  G  A  R  S.  53 

wedding,  after  a  <;ourtship  of  near  six  years.  This 
fioogars  speaks  of  in  his  letters,  and  appears  to  have  been 
exceedingly  afflicted  at  it.  His  Latin  letters  were  pab« 
lished  at  Leyden  in  1647,  and  the  French  translation  above 
mentioned  in  1668^  along  with  the  originals^  2  vols,  i2mOf 
but  that  of  the  Hague  in  1695  is  the  most  correct.  Hii 
edition  of  Justin  is  rare  and  valuable.  It  was  printed  from 
eight  manuscripts^  accompanied  with  learned  notes,  various 
readings,  and  chronological  tables ;  but  the  Bipont  editors 
seem  to  think  be  sometimes  took  unwarranted  liberties 
with  the  text.  ^ 

BONIFACE  (St.),  a  celebrated  saint  of  the  eighth  cen- 
tury, and  usually  styled  the  Apostle  of  Germany,  was  an 
Euglishmajn,  named  Wilfrid,  and  born  at  Crediton  or  Kir- 
ton  in  Devonshire,  about  the  year  6  SO.     He  was  educated 
from  the  age  of  thirteen  in  the  monastery  of  Escancester 
or  Exeter,  and  about  three  years  after  removed  to  Nutcell, 
in  the  diocese  of  Winchester,  a  monastery  which  was  afker^ 
wards  destroyed  by  the  Danes,  and   was  never  rebuilt. 
Here  he  was  instructed  in  the  sacred  and  secular  learning 
of  the  times  ;  and  at  the  age  of  thirty,  was  ordained  priest, 
and  became  a  zealous  preacher.    The  same  zeal  prompted 
him  to  undertake  the  functions  of  a  missionary  among  the 
pagans ;  and  with  that  view  he  went  with  two  monks  into 
Friezeland,  about  the  year  716  ;  but  a  war  which  broke  out 
between  Charles  Martel,  mayor  of  the  French  palace,  and  ^ 
fiadbod,  king  of  Friezeland,  rendering  it  impracticable  to 
preach  the  gospel  at  that  time,  he  returned  to  England 
with  his  companions.     Still, ^however,  zealously  intent  on 
the  conversion  of  the  pagans,  he  refused  being  elected 
abbot  of  Nutcell,  on  a  vacancy  which  happened  on  his  re- 
turn ;  and  having  received  recomniendatory  letters  from 
the  bishop  of  Winchester,  went  to  Rome,  and  presented 
himself  to  the  pope  Gregory  II.  who  encouraged  his  de- 
sign, and  gave  him  a  commission  for  the  conversion  of  the 
intideis,  in  the  year  719.     With  this  he  went  into  Bavaria 
and  Thuringia,  and  had  considerable  success :  and  Rad- 
bod,  king  of  Friezeland,  being  now  dead,  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  visiting  that  country^  where  he  co-operated  with 
Wilhbrod,   another  famous   missionary,   who  would  have 
appointed  him  his  successor,  which  Wilfrid  refused,  be- 
cause the  pope  had  particularly  enjoined  him  to  preach  in 
the  eastern  parts  of  Germany.    Through  Hesse,  or  9  con* 

^  Gen.  Pict.— Moreri.— Dibdin's  Classics.— >Saxii  OnomasU 


5i  BO  N  I  F  A  C  E. 

'  fttderable  part  Gf  it,  even  to  the  confines  of  Saxony,  he 
extended  his  pious  labours,  and  had  considerable  success, 
although  he  suffered  many  hardships,  and  was  often  ex- 
posed to  danger  from  the  rage  of  the  intideis. 

After  some  time  he  returned  to  Rome,  where  Gregory 
II.  consecrated  him  bishop  of  the  new  German  churches, 
by  the  name  of  Boniface,  a  Roman  name,  which  Gregory 
probably  thought  might  procure  from  the  German  con- 
verts more  respect  to  the  pope,  than  an  English  one. 
Solicitous  also  to  preserve  his  dignity,  Gregory  exacted 
from  Boniface  an  oath  of  subjection  to  the  papal  authority, 
drawn  up  in  very  strong  terms.  Boniface  then  returned  to 
the  scenes  of  his  mission,  and  had  great  success  in  Hesse, 
encouraged  now  by  Charles  Martel,  the  dominion  of  the 
French  extending  at  this  time  a  considerable  way  into  Ger- 
many. We  do  not,  however,  find  that  he  derived  any 
other  assistance  from  the  civil  authority,  than  personal 
protection,  which  doubtless  was  of^reat  importance.  If 
he  complied  with  the  instructions  sent  from  England,  he 
employed  no  means  but  what  became  a  true  missionary. 
These  instructions,  or  rather  advice  sent  to  him  by  Daniel, 
bishop  of  Winchester,  about  the  year  723,  afford  too 
striking  an  instance  of  good  sense  and  liberality  in  that 
dark  age,  to  be  omitted.  Daniel's  method  of  dealing  with 
idolaters  was  conceived  in  these  words,  ^'  Do  not  contra- 
dict in  a  direct  manner  their  accounts  of  the  genealogy  of 
their  gods ;  allow  that  they  were  born  from  one  another 
in  the  same  way  that  mankind  are  :  this  concession  will 
give  you  the  advantage  of  proving,  that  there  was  a  time 
when  they  had  no  existence. — Ask  them  who  governed  the 
world  before  the  birth  of  their  gods,  and  if  these  gods  have 
ceased  to  propagate  i  If  they  have  not,  shew  them  the 
consequence ;  .namely,  that  the  gods  roust  be  infinite  in 
number,  and  that  no  man  can  rationally  b^  at  ease  in  wor- 
shipping any  of  tjiem,  lest  he  should,  by  that  means,  offend 
one,  who  is  more  powerful. — Argue  thus  with  them,  not 
in  the  way  of  insult,  but  with  temjper  and  moderation  :  and 
take  opportunities  to  contrast  these  absurdities  with  the 
Christian  doctrine  :  let  the  pagans  be  rather  ashamed  than 
incensed  by  your  oblique  mode  of  stating  these  subjects. — 
Shew  them  the  insufficiency  of  their  pleai  of  antiquity  ;  in- 
form  them  that  idolatry  did  andently  prevail  ovier  the 
world,  but  that  Jesus  Christ  was  manifested,  in  order  to 
reconcile  men  to  God  by  his  grace.'*  From  this  same  pre- 
late be  re<3eived  other  instructions  respecting  reforming  the 


BONIFACE.  $5 

church,  and  exercising  discipline  with  the  refractory,  and 
scandalous  priests,  who  occasioned  much  obstruction  to 
his  mission.  In  the  mean  time,  the  report  of  his  success 
induced  many  of  his  countrymen  to  join  him,  who  dispersed 
themselTes  and  preached  in  the  villages  of  Hesse  and  Thu« 
ringia. 

In  the  year  732,  he  received  the  title  of  archbishop  from 
Gregory  III.  who  supported  his  mission  with  the  same 
spirit  as  his  predecessor  Gregory  II. ;  and  under  this  en* 
couragemeht  he  proceeded  to  erect  new  churches,  and 
extend  Christianit}',  At  this  time,  he  found  the  Bavarian 
churches  disturbed  by  one  Eremvolf,  who  would  have  se- 
duced the  people  into  idolatry,  but  whom  he  condemned, 
according  to  the  canons,  and  restored  the  discipline  of  the 
church.  In  the  year  738,  he  again  visited  llome ;  and 
after  some  stay,  he  induced  several  Englishmen  who  re- 
sided there,  to  join  with  him  in  his  German  mission.  Re* 
turning  into  Bavaria,  he  established  three  new  bishoprics, 
at  Saltzburgh,  Frisinghen,  and  Ratisbon.  At  length  he 
was  fixed  at  Mentz,  in  the  year  745,  and  although  after- 
wards many  other  churches  in  Germany  have  been  raised 
to  the  dignity  of  archbishoprics,  Mentz  has  always  re- 
tained the  primacy,  in  honour  of  St.  Boniface.  He  also* 
founded  a  monastery  at  Fridislar,  another  at  Hamenburgh, 
and  one  at  Ordorfe,  in  all  which  the  monks  gained  their 
livelihood  by  the  labour  of  their  hands.  In  the  year  746, 
he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  great  abbey'  of  Fulda,  which 
continued  long  the  most  renowned  seminary  of  reUgioii 
and  learning  in  all  that  part  of  the  world.  The  abbot  is 
now  a  prince  of  the  empire.  In  the  mean  time  his  con- 
nection with  England  was  constantly  preserved ;  and  it  is 
in  the  epistolary  correspondence  with  his  own  country, 
that  the  most  striking  evidence  of  his  pious  views  appears. 
Still  intent  on  his  original  design,  although  now  advanced 
in  years,  he  determined  to  return  intq  Friezeland,  and 
before  his  departure,  acted  as  if  he  had  a  strong  presenti- 
ment of  what  was  to  happen. «  He  appointed  LuUus,  ati 
Englishman,  his  successor  as  archbishop  of  Mentz,  a  privi- 
lege which  the  pope  had  granted  him,  and  ordained  him 
with  the  consent  of  king  Pepin.  He  went  by  the  Rhine  to 
Friezeland,  where,  assisted  by  Eoban,  whom  he  had  or- 
dained bishop  of  Utrecht,  he  brought  great  numbers  of 
pagans  into  the  pale  of  the  church.  ,  He  had  appointed  a 
day  to  confirm  those  whoni  be  had  baptized ;  and  io  wait- 


<6  BONIFACE. 

* 

ing  for  them,  eneamped  with  his  followers  on  the  banks  erf 
the  Bordue,  a  river  which  then  divided  Eas^  and  West 
Friezeland.  His  intention  was  to  confirm,  by  imposition 
of  bands,  the  converts  in  the  plains  of  Dockum.  On  the 
appointed  day,  he  beheld,  in  the  morning,  not  the  new 
converts  vyhom  he  expected,  but  a  troop  of  enraged  pa- 
gans, armed  with  shields  and  lances.  The  servants  went 
out  to  resist ;  but  Boniface,  with  calm  intrepidity,  said  to 
his  followers,  **  Children,  forbear  to  fight ;  the  scripture 
forbids  us  to  render  evil  for  evil.  The  day  which  I  have 
long  waited  for  is  c6me ;  hope  in  God,  and  he  will  save 
your  souls."  The  pagans  immediately  attacked  theoi 
furiously,  and  killed  the  whole  company,  fifty-two  in 
number,  besides  Boniface  himself.  This  happened  on 
June  5,  755,  in  the  fortieth  year  after  his  arrival  in  Ger- 
many. His  body  was  interred  in  the  abbey  of  Fulda,  and 
was  long  regarded  as  the  greatest  treasure  of  that  monas- 
tery. Boniface's  character  has  been  strangely  misrepre- 
sented by  Mosheim,  and  by  his  transcribers,  but  ably  vin- 
dicated by  Milner,  who  has  examined  the  evidence  on 
both  sides  with  great  precision.  His  works,  principally 
sermons  and  correspondence,  were  published  under  the  title 
**  S.  Bonifacii  Opera,  a  Nicolao  Serraiio,"  Mogunt.  1605, 
4to.  ^ 

BONIFACIO  (Balthasar),  the  son  of  a  lawyer  of  the 
same  name,  was  born  at  Crema,  in  the  Venetian  state 
about  1584.  In  his  thirtieth  year  he  went  to  study  at  Padua, 
and  made  such  proficiency  as  to  be  created  doctor  of  laws 
at  the  age  of  eighteen.  About  two  years  after  he  was  ap- 
pointed law  professor  in  the  college  of  Rovigo,  where  he 
first  lectured  on  the  institutes  of  Justinian.  He  afterwards 
accompanied  the  pope's  nuncio  Jerome  Portia,  as  secre- 
tary, and  was  himself  employed  in  some  aifairs  of  import- 
ance. On  his  return  to  Venice,  he  had  several  prefer- 
ments, and  among  others  that  of  archpriest  of  fiovigo.  In 
Oct.  1619,  he  was  elected  Greek  and  Latin  professor  at 
Padua,  but  declined  accepting  the  office.  In  1620,  he 
assisted  at  Venice,  in  the  establishment  of  an  academy 
for  the  education  of  the  young  nobility,  and  gave  lectures 
on  the  civil  law.  Pope  Urban  VIII.  bestowed  on  him  the 
archdeaconry  of  Trevisa,  which  he  held,  with  the  office  of 
grand  vicar  of  that  diocese,  under  four  successive  bishops. 

*  Milper's    Church  Hist.  vol.  III.   p.  189. — Dupin. — Mosheim. — Cave- 
Fabric.  Bibl.  Med.  Lat,— Saxii  Ouonaast, — ^Tanner  in  Wilfrid, 


BONIFACIO.  5» 

He  assUted  also  very  essentially  in  founding  a  new  academy 
at  Padua  for  the  Venetian  nobility,  in  1636,  and  was  the 
first  director  or  president  of  it,  and  founded  a  similar  es- 
tablishment at  Trevisa.  In  1653  he  was  appointed  bishop 
of  Capo  d'Istria,  which  he  held  until  his  death  in  1659, 
He  was  a  man  of  various  learning,  as  appears  by  bis  ^^  His^ 
toria  Trevigiena,"  4to,  his  "  Historia  Ludicra,"  1656,  4to, 
a  collection  of  singular  narratives  from  authors  of  every 
description.  He  published  also  some  ^*  Latin  poems*'  in 
1619,  i2mo.  "  De  Komanae  Historise  Scriptoribus  ex- 
cerpta  ex  Bodino,  Vossio  et  aliis,*'  Venice,   1627,  4to.  * 

BONIFACIO  (John),  an  eminent  Italian  lawyer,  poet, 
and  historian,  was  bom  in  1547,  at  Rovigo  in  the  state  of 
Venice,  and  educated  at  Padua,  where,  during  his  law- 
studies,  he  composed  some  pieces  for  the  theatre  which 
were  much  approved.     After  marrying  at  Trevisa,  or  Tre- 
vigni,  Elizabeth  Martinagi,  the  daughter  and  heiress  of 
Marc  Antonio^  he  settled  in  that  place,  of  which  he  wrote 
the  history,  and  acquired  so  much  reputation  that  the  re- 
public of  Venice  bestowed  on  him  the  office  of  judge'$ 
counsellor  or  assessor,,  the  duties  of  \^hich  he  executed 
with  great  probity ;  and  during  his  holding  it  wrote  bid 
law  tracts.     In  1588,  he  published  his  commentary  on  the 
feudal  law  of  Venice,     After  the  death  of  his  wife,  he 
married  a  lady  of  Padua,  where  he  was  admitted  to  the 
rank  of  citizenship,  and  where  he  resided  for  the  remain-^ 
der  of  his  life.     He  died  June  23,   1635,  at  a  very  ad- 
vanced age,  and  was  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  James, 
with  a  modest  inscription  written  by  himself  in  1 630.     His 
principal  writings  are,   1.  "  Storia  Trevigiana,"  Trevisi, 
1591,  4to,  but  a  better  edition,  Venice,   1744,  4to.     2, 
5*  Lettere  Famigliari,"*'  Rovigo,  1624,  4to.     3.  "  Orazione 
&c.  per  dirizzare  una  Statua  a  Celio  Ricchiero  Rodigino,'* 
ibid.  1624,  4to.     4.  "  Lezione  sopra  un  Sonetto  del  Pe* 
trarca/*  ibid.  1624,  4to.     5.  "  Lezione  sopra  un  altro  So - 
netto   del  Petrarca,"   ibid.  1625,    4to.      6.   "  L^arte  de 
Cenni,"  Vicenza,  1616,  4to,  one  of  the  earliest  attempts 
to  instruct  the  deaf  and  diAnb.     7.  ^^  Discorso  del  niodo 
di  ben  formare  a  questo  tempo  una  Tragedia,"  Padua,, 
l£24,   4to.      8.    ^^  Discorso   sopra  la   sua  Impresa  nelP 
AccademJa  Filarmonica/'  ibid.   1624,  4to.     9.  '^  La  Re-> 
publica  delle  Api,  con  la  quale  si  dimostra  il  modo  di  bea 

J  Moreri. — ^Nicerottj  vol,  XVI.  ?ind  XX.— ^axii  OnomasticoQ. 


«8  BONIFACIO. 

formare  uii  nuovo  Governo  Democratico,"  Rovigo,  1627, 
4to.  10.  *^  Comentario  sopra  la  legge  dell'  Senato  Veneta, 
&c."  ibid.  1624,  4to.  Freher  also  mentions  "  Comment 
de  Furtis,  et  de  componendis  Epitaphiis,"  but  without 
giving  the  exact  tij:les  or  dates.  ^ 

.  BONJOUR  (William),  a  learned  Augustin,  was  born 
at  Toulouse  in  1670;  and  at  Rome,  whither  he  was  sent 
£c>r  by  cardinal  Norris  in  1695,  be  became  dj!^tinguished 
by  bis  learning  and  piety.  He  was  employed  by  pope 
Clement  XL  in  several  matters  of  importance,  and  parti- 
cularly in  the  examination  of  the  Gregorian  calendar. 
Bonjour  had  also  the  superinteudeiice  of  the  seminary 
established  by  cardinal  Barbarigo  at  Montefiascone,  and 
denominated  the  academy  of  sacred  letters'.  He  was  ac- 
quainted with  almost,  all  the  oriental  tongues,  and  espe- 
cially with  the  Coptic,  or  ancient  Egyptian.  Actuated  by 
a  zeal  for  acquiring  knowledge,  and  for  propagating  the 
gospel,  be  visited  China,  where  he  died  in  February  1714, 
whilst  he  was  employed  in  forming  a  map  of  that  empire, 
which  he  undertook  to  conciliate  the  favour  of  the  empe- 
ror, and  thereby  pfomote  the  objects  of  his  mission.  He 
published,  1.  ^^  Dissertatio  de  nomine  patriarcbi  Josephi  a 
Pharaone  imposito,  in  defensionem  vulgatse  editionis,  et 
patrum  qui  Josephum  in  Serapide  adumbratuni  tradide- 
runt,"  &c.  Rome,  1696,  fol.  2.  "  Selectee  dissertationes 
in  Sac.  Scripturam,"  Rome,  170J,  fol.  which  prove  his 
acquaintance  with  the  oriental  languages,  and  with  ancient 
history  and  chronology.  '3.  ^^  In  monumenta  Coptica,  seu 
^gyptiacae  bibliothecsB  Vaticanae  brevis  exercitatio,"  ibid. 
1699,  fol.  4.  ^^  Calendarium  Romanum  chronologorum 
causa  constructum,  &c."  ibid.  1701.* 

PONNEFONS  (John),  or  Bonnefonius,  a  Latin  poet, 
was  born  in  1554,  at  Clermont  in  Auvergne,  and  filled  the 
post  of  lieutenant-general  of  Bar-sur-Seine.  His  *^  Pan- 
charis,"  in  the  style  of  Catullus,  is  of  all  modern  per- 
formance?,  the  nearest  to  the  graces,  the  easy  pencil,  the 
delicacy  and  softness  of  that  ancient  poet.  La  Bergerie 
has  translated  the  Pancharis  into  French  verse,  very  infe- 
rior to  the  Latin.  The  poems  of  Bonnefons  are  at  the  end 
of  those  of  Beza,  in  the  edition  of  that  author  given  at 
Paris  by  Barbou,  1757,  12mio.    There  is  also  one  of  Lon* 

1  Freheri  Theatrum. — ^Moreri. — Saxii  Onoihast. 
•  Moreri. — Le  Clerc  Bibl.  Choisie,  vol.  XV, 


B  O  N  N  E  F  O  N  S.  69 

dody  1720  and  1121^  12mo.  Bonnefons  died  in  1614) 
leaving  a  son,  who  likewise  cultivated  Latin  poetry,  but 
his  performances^  enumerated  by  Moreri,  are  in  less  re<» 
quest.  * 

BONN  ELL  (James),  a  man  celebrated  for  piety  and 
virtue,  was  born  at  Genoa,  Nov.  14,  1653,  being  the  son 
of  Samuel  Bonneil,  merchant,  who  resided  some  time  at 
Genoa,  and  of  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Thomas  Sayer,  near 
Norwich,  esq.  His  grandfather  was  Daniel  Bonneil  of 
London,  merchant,  and  his  great-grandfather,  Thomas 
Bonneil,  a  gentleman  of  good  family  near  Ipres  in  Flan- 
ders, who,  to  avoid  the  duke  of  Alva's  persecution,  re- 
moved with  bis  family  into  England,  and  settled  at  Nor* 
wich,  of  which,  before  his  death,  he  was  chosen  mayor. 
Samuel  Bonneil,  father  of  James  Bonneil,  being  bred  up 
under  that  eminent  merchant,  sir  William  Courteen,  knt. 
applied  himself  to  the  Italian  trade,  at  Leghorn  and  Ge- 
noa, with  such  success,  that  about  1649,  he  was  worth  at 
least  10,000/.  and  his  credit  much  greater  than  his  fortune. 
But  both  were  soon  impaired  by  several  accidents,  by 
great  losses  at  sea,  and  particularly  by  his  zeal  for  king- 
Charles  IL  during  his  exile,  and  the  rest  of  the  royal 
family,  whom  he  privately  supplied  with  large  sums  of 
money.  About  1655,  he  removed  with  his  family  into 
England ;  and,  at  the  restoration,  on  account  of  the  ser- 
vices he  had  done  the  royal  family,  and  as  a  compensation 
for  the  large  sums  he  had  advanced  them  (which^  it  seems, 
were  never  repaid  otherwise)  there  was  granted  him  a  pa- 
tent to  be  accomptant-general  pi  the  revenue  of  Ireland,  a 
place  worth  about  800/.  a  year,  his  son's  life  being  included 
in  the  patent  with  his  own.  But  this  he  was  not  long  pos- 
sessed of,  for  he  died  in  1664,  leaving  his  son  and  one 
daughter. 

After  this  son,  the  object  of  the  present  article,  had 
been  instructed  in  the  first  rudiments  of  learning  at  Dublin, 
he  was  sent  to  Trim  school,  where  he  was  eminent  for 
sweetness  of  temper,  and  for  a  most  innocent,  gentle,  and 
religious  behaviour.  At  fourteen  years  of  age  he  left  that 
place,  and  was  sent  to  a  private  philosophy  school  at  Nettle- 
bed  in  Oxfordshire,  kept  by  Mr.  William  Cole,  who  bad 
formerly  been  principal  of  St.  Mary  Hall  in  Oxford,  and 
remained   there  two  years  and  a  half.     But  finding  I^is 

1  Morerr,—BailIet  Jugemens  des  Savant. 


60  .     B  O  N  N  £  L  I^ 

inaster  was  too  remiss  in  matters  of  morality  and  religion  ^^ 
9.  cbing  quite  unsuitable  with  bis  strict  temper;  and  ob- 
serving, there  were  in  that  place  all  the  dangers  and  vices 
bf  the  university,  without  the  advantages,  he  removed  to 
Catherine-hall  in   Cambridge,    where  he  prosecuted  bis 
Studies  with  indefatigable  diligence,  and  performed  all  his 
exercises  with  general  approbation.     After  taking  the  de- 
grees of  A.B.  in  1672,  and  A.  M.  1676,  he  removed  into 
the  family  of  Ralph  Freeman  of  Aspenden-^hall  in  Hert- 
fordshire, esq.  as  tutor  to  his  eldest  son,  and  there  conti- 
nued till  1673,  when,  going  with  his  pupil  into  Holland, 
he  stayed  about  a  year  in  sir  Leoline  Jenkyns's  family  at 
>}imeguen.    From  Nimeguen  he  went,  in  the  ambassador's 
company,  through  Flanders  and  Holland :  and  returning 
to  England,  continued  with  his  pupil  till  168S,  when  Mr. 
Freeman  was  sent  into  France  and  Italy.     In  1684,  Mr. 
Bonnell  went  into  France,  and  met  Mr.  Freeman  at  Lyons^ 
and  in  his  company  visited  several  parts  of  that  country. 
From  thence,  however,  he  went  directly  to  Ireland,  and 
took  his  employment  of  accountant-general  into  his  own 
hands,  which  had,  since  bis  father^s  death,  been  managed 
by  others  for  bis  use.     In  the  discharge  of  it  he  behaved 
with  so  much  diligence  and  fidelity,  that  he  soon  acquired 
the  esteem  of  the  government,  and  the  love  of  all  who 
vrere  concerned  with  him.     During  the  troublesome  reign 
^f  king  James  II.  he  neither  deserted  his  employment,  as 
others  did,  nor  countenanced  the  arbitrary  and  illegal  mea- 
sures of  the  court,  and  yet  was  continued  in  bis  office, 
which  proved  a  great  advantage  to  the  protestant  interest  ^ 
in  Ireland,  for  whatever  he  received  out  of  his  office,  he 
^  liberally  distributed  among  the  poor  oppressed  protestants. 
He  also  took  every  opportunity  to  relieve  the  injured,  and 
boldly  to  plead  their  cause  with  those  who  were  iti  power. 
But  though  his  place  was  very  advantageous,  and  furnished 
him  with  ample  means  of  doing  good,  yet  either  the  weighi 
of  the  employment,  or  his  ill  state  of  health,  or  perhaps 
his  desire  of  entering  into  holy  orders,  which  he  had  long 
designed,  but  never  effected,  made  him  resolve  to  quit  it ; 

*  This  Cole  was  ejected  from  Ox-  Against  this  ht  is  defended  in  Mr.  S. 

ford  at  the  Restoration,  and  continued  Palmer's  Nonconformists*    MemoriaU 

afterwards  a  nonconformist.  Mr.  Wes-  vol.  I.  p.  249;  but  Mr.  P.  appears  not 

ley,  the  father  of  the  celebrated  John  to  have  seen  Mr.  Bonnell'ft  statement. 

Wesley,  accused  him  of  being  an  en-  Life,  p.  9. 
courager  of  immorality  ia  bis  family. 


BONNELL.  «i 

and  be  accordingly  parted  with  it  to  another  person  in 
1693.  In  the  whole  course  of  his  life  be  behaved  in  so 
upright  and  worthy  a  manner,  that  he  was  courted  by  his 
superiors  and  reverenced  by  his  equals.  In  piety,  jus- 
tice, charity,  sobriety,  and  temperance,  few  have  excelled 
him.  His  devotion  was  confined  within  the  strictest  bounds 
of  sobriety  and  reason,  and  free  from  tbe  least  appearance 
of  affectation.  He  commonly  gave  aTway  the  eigbth  part 
of  his  yearly  income  to  the  poor,  and  his  charity  was  not  * 
only  extensive  but  impartial.  His  learning  was  very  con-, 
siderable ;  he  thoroughly  digested  the  Greek  and  Roman 
authors,  understood  French  perfectly,  and  had  made  great 
progress  in  the  Hebrew  language.  In  philosophy  and 
oratory  he  exceeded  most  of  his  contemporaries  in  the 
university,  and  applied  himself  with  success  to  mathe- 
matics and  music.  In  the  course  of  his  studies  he  read 
several  of  the  fathers,  and  translated  some  parts  of  Sy- 
nesiujs  into  English.  There  is  nothing,  however,  of  his 
published,  but  some  Meditations  and  Prayer»iiiserted  in 
his  Life,  and  a  "  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,"  written  ^y 
another  hand,  but  ^^  improved  by  James  Bonnell,  esq.  for 
his  own  use,"  Loud.  1705,  8vo.  This  excellent  man  died 
of  a  malignant  fever,  April  28,  1699,  and  was  buried  in 
St.  John's  church  in  Dublin.  In  1693  he  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  sir  Albert  Conyngham,  by  whom  be  had  three 
children,  of  whom  only  one  daughter  survivcKl  him  a  very 
short  time.  A  neat  monument  was  erected  to  his  memory 
by  his  relict.  "  Such  a  character,"  says  Mr.  Granger, 
*^  may,  perhaps,  be  overlooked  by  some,  because  there  is 
npthing  remarkably  striking  in  it  But  tbe  man  who  is 
uniformly  good,  and  that  to  such  a  degree  as  Mr.  Bonnell 
was,  ought  to  stand  high  in  our  opinion,  and  to  be  esteem- 
ed what  he  certainly  was,  a  great  man."  ^ 

BONNER  (Edmund),  bishop  of  London,  proverbial  for 
his  cruelty,  was  the  son  of  an  honest  poor  man,  and  born 
at  Hanley  in  Worcestershire,  although  some  have  very 
eagerly  reported  that  be  was  tbe  natural  son  of  one  George 
Sava^,  a  priest,  as  if  the  circumstance  of  bis  birth  could 
have  had  any  effect  on  his  future  disposition.  He  was 
maintained  at  school  by  an  ancestor  of  Nicholas  Lechmere, 
esq.  a  baron  of  the  exchequer  in  the  reign  of  king  WiU 

*  Biog.  Brit. — Life  of  Bonnell,  by  Wm.  Hamilton,  A.  M.  Archdeacon  of 
Armagh,  and  Funeral  Sermon  for,  by  Bishop  Wetenhall,  Lond.  8vo,  1703 — 18, 
and  veprinted  by  Metnrs.  Rivingtons,  1807,  being  the  fifib  edition. 


62  BONNER. 

liam;  afidin  1512,  ^he  was  entered  at  Broadgate*lian  in 
Oxford,  now  Pembroke  college.  On  June  12y  1519j  be 
was  admitted  bachelor  of  the  canon,  and  the  day  following 
bachelor  of  the  civil  law.  He  entered  into  orders  about 
the  same  time,  and  had  some  employment  in  the  diocese 
of  Worcester ;  and  on  the  12th  of  July  1525,  was  created 
doctor  of  the  canon  law.  He  was  a  man  of  some,  though 
not  great  learning,  but  distinguished  himself  chiefly  by 
his  skill  and  dexterity  in  the  management  of  aflaira, 
which  made  him  be  taken  notice  of  by  cardinal  Wolsey, 
who  appointed  him  his  commissary  for  the  faculties ;  and 
he  was  with  this  prelate  at  Cawood,  when  he  was  arrested 
for  high  treason.  He  enjoyed  at  once  the  livings  of  Blay- 
don  and  Cherry  Burton  in  Yorkshire,  Ripple  in  Worcester*- 
shire.  East  Dereham  in  Norfolk,  and  the  prebend  of  Chis'- 
wick  in  the  cathedral  church  of  St.  Paul :  but  the  last  be 
resigned  in  1539,  and  East  Dereham  in  1540.  He  was 
installed  archdeacon  of  Leicester,  October  17,  1535. 

After  the  cardinal's  death,  be  got  into  the  good  graces 
of  king  Henry  VIII.  who  appointed  him  one  of  his  chap* 
lains.     On  this  he  began  his  career  in  a  manner  not  very 
consistent  with  his  after-conduct.     He  was  not  only  a  fa- 
vourer  of  the  Lutherans,  but  a  promoter  of  the  king's  di* 
vorce  from  queen  Catherine  of  Spain,  and  of  great  use  to 
his  majesty  in  abrogating  the  pope's  supremacy.     He  was 
also  in  high  favour  with  lord  Cromwell,  secretary  of  state, 
by  whose  recommendation  he  was  employed  as  ambassador 
at  several  courts.     In  1532,  he  was  sent  to  Rome,  along- 
with  sir  Edward  Karne,  to  excuse  king  Henry's  personal 
appearance  upon  the  pope's  citation.     In  1533,  he  was 
again  sent  to  Rome  to  pope  Clement  VII.  then  at  Mar->> 
seilles,  upon  the  excommunication  decreed  against  king 
Henry  VIII.  on  account  of  his  divorce ;  to  deliver   that 
king's  appeal  from  the  pope  to  the  next  general  council. 
But  in  this  he  betrayed  so  much  of  that  passionate  temper 
which  appeared  afterwards  more  conspicuously,  and  exe- 
cuted the  order  of  his  master  in  this  affair  with  so  much 
vehemence  and  fury,  that  the  pope  talked  of  throwing  him 
into  a  caldron  of  melted  lead^  on  which  he  thought  proper 
to  make  his  escape.     He  was  employed  likewise  in  other 
embassies  to  the  kings  of  Denmark  and  France,  and  the 
emperor  of  Germany.     In  1538,  being  then  ambassador 
in  France,  he  was  nominated  to  the  bishopric  of  Hereford, 
^QV.  27  J .  but  before  consecration  he  was  translated  to 


BONNER.  6» 

London,  of  which  he  was  elected  bishop  Oct.  SO,  1539> 
and  consecrated  April  4,   1540. 

At  the  time  of  the  king's  death  in  1547,  Bonner  was 
ambassadoir  with  the  emperor  Charles  V.;  and  though  dur- 
ing Henry's  reign  he  appeared  zealous  against  the  pope, 
and  had  concifrred  in  all  the  measures  taken  to  abrogate  his 
supremacy,  yet  these  steps  he  appears  to  have  taken  merely 
as  the  readiest  way  to  preferment ;  for  his  principles,  as 
far  as  such  a  man  can  be  said  to  have  any,  were  those  of 
popery,  as  became  evident  from  his  subsequent  conduct. 
On  the  1st  of  September  1547,  not  many  months  after 
the  accession  of  Edward  VI.  he  scrupled  to  take  an  oath, 
to  renounce  and  deny  the  bishop  of  Rome,  and  to  swear 
obedience  to  the  king,  and  entered  a  protestation  against 
the  king's  injunetion  and  homilies.  For  this  behaviour  h6 
was  committed  to  the  Fleet;  but  having  submitted,  and  re- 
canted his  protestation,  was  released,  and  for  sometime  com* 
plied  outwardly  with  the  steps  taken  to  advance  the  refor- 
mation, while  he  used  privately  all  means  in  his  power  to 
obstruct  it.  After  the  lord  Thomas  Seymour's  death,  he  ap- 
peared so  remiss  in  putting  the  court  orders  in  execution, 
particularly  that  relating  to  the  use  of  the  common  prayer 
book,  that  he  was  severely  reproved  by  the  privy  council. 
He  then  affected  to  redouble  his  diligence :  but  still,  through 
his  remissness  in  preaching,  and  his  connivance  at  the 
mass  in  several  places,  many  people  in  his  diocese  being 
observed  to  withdraw  from  the  divine  service  and  com- 
munion, he  was  accused  of  neglect  in  the  execution  of  the 
king's  orders.  He  was  summoned  before  the  privy  coun- 
cil on  the  11th  of  August,  when,  after  a  reproof  for  his 
negligence,  he  was  enjoined  to  preach  the  Sunday  three 
weeks  after  at  Paul's  cross,  on  certain  articles  delivered  to 
him ;  and  also  to  preach  there  once  a  quarter  for  the  fu- 
ture, and  be  present  at  every  sermon  preached  there,  and 
to  celebrate  the  communion  in  that  church  on  all  the  prin- 
cipal feasts :  and  to  abide  and  keep  residence  in  his  house 
in  London,  till  he  had  licence  from  the  council  to  depart 
elsewhere.  On  the  day  appointed  for  his  preaching,  he 
delivered  a  sermon  to  a  crowded  audience  on  the  points  as- 
signed to  him.  But  he  entirely  omitted  the  last  article, 
the  king^s  royal  power  in  his  youth ;  for  which  contempt 
he  was  complained  of  to  the  king  by  John  Hooper,  .after* 
wards  bishop  of  Worcester  r  and  archbishop  Cranmer, 
bi$hop  Ridleyi  sir  Wiiliam  Petre,  and  sir  Thomas.  Smith, 


t4  B  a  N  N  E  R. 

secretaries  of  state^  and  William  May,  LL.  D.  and  deaii 
of  St.  Paul's,  were  appointed  commissioners  to  -  proceed 
against  him.  Appearing  before  them  several  days  in  Sep- 
tember, he  was,  after  a  long  trial,  committed  to  the  Mar* 
shalsea ;  and  towards  the  end  of  October  deprived  of  bis 
bishopric.  * 

On  the  accessioji  of  queen  Mary,  Bonner  bad  an  oppor- 
t&nity  of  shewing  himself  in  his  proper  character,  which 
indeed  had  been  liitherto  but  faintly  concealed.  He  wa^ 
restored  to  his  bishopric  by  a  commission  read  in  St. 
PauPs  cathedral  the  ^th  of  September  1553  ;  and  in  1554, 
he  was  made  vicegerent,  and  president  of  the  convocation, 
in  the  room  of  archbishop  Cranmer,  who  was  committed 
to  the  Tower.  The  same  year  he  visited  his  diocese,  in 
order  to  root  up  all  the  seeds  of  the  Reformation,  ,and  be- 
haved in  the  most  furious  and  extravagant  manner;  at 
Hadham,  he  was  excessively  angry  because  the  bells  did 
not  ring  at  his  coming,  nor  was  the  rood-loft  decked,  or 
the  sacrament  hung  up.  He  swore  and  raged  in  the  dbiurch 
at  Dr.  Bricket,  the  rector,  and,  calling  him  jicnave  and 
heretic,  went  to  strike  at  him ;  but  the  blow  fell  upon  sir 
Thomas  Joscelyn's  ear,  and  almost  stunned  him.  On  his 
return  he  set  up  the  mass  again  at  St.  Paul's,  before  the 
act  for  restoring  it  was  passed.  The  same  year,  he  was  in 
commission  to  turn  out  some  of  the  refonned  bishops.  In 
1555,  and  the  three  following  years,  he  was  the  occasion 
of  above  two  hundred  of  innocent  persons  being  put  to 
death  in  the  most  cruel  manner,  that  of  burning,  for  their 
firm  adherence  to  the  Protestant  religion.  On  the  14th  of 
February  1555-6^  he  came  to  Oxford  (with  Thirlby  bishop 
of  Ely),  to  degrade  archbishop  Cranmer,  whom  he  used 
with  great  insolence.  The  2dth  of  December  following  he 
was  put  into  a  commission  to  search  and  raze  all  registers 
and  records  containing  professions  against  the  pope,  scru- 
tinies taken  in  religious  houses,  &c«  And  the  8th  of  Feb* 
ruary  1556-7,  he  was  also  put  in  another  commission,  or 
kind  of  inquisition,  for  searching  after  and  punishing  all 
heretics. 

Upon  queen  Elizabeth's  accession,  Bonner  went  to  meet 
her  at  Highgate,  with  the  rest  of  the  bishops;  but  she 
looked  on  him  as  a  man  stained  with  blood,  and  therefore 
would  shew  him  no  mark  of  her  favour.  For  some  months, 
however,  he  remained  unmolested ;  but  being  called  be- 
fore the  privy  council  pn  the  30th  of  May  1559,  he  re- 


BONNER.  65 

fused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  supremacy :  for 
which  reason  only,  as  it  appears,  he  was  deprirTed  a  second 
time  of  his  bishopric  the  29th  of  June  following,  and  com- 
mitted  to  the  Marshalsea.  After  having  lived  in  confine* 
ment  some  years,  oe  died  Septembers,  1569,  and  three 
days  after  he  was  buried  at  midnight,  in  St.  George's  church-* 
yard,  Southwark,  to  prevent  'any  disturbances  that  might 
have  been  made  by  the  citizens,  who  hated  him  extremely. 
He  had  stood  excommunicated  several  years,  and  might 
have  been  denied  Christian  burial ;  but  of  this  no  advan** 
tage  was  taken.  As  to  his  character,  he  was  a  violent,  furious^ 
and  passionate  man,  and  extremely  cruel  in  his  nature; 
in  bis  person  he  was  very  fat  and  corpulent,  the  conse- 
quence of  excessive  gluttony,  to  which  he  was  much  ad- 
dict^. He  was  a  great  master  of  the  canon  law,  being 
excelled  in  that  faculty  by  very  few  of  his  time,  and  well 
skilled  in  politics,  but  understood  little  of  divinity.  Se- 
veral pieces  were  published  under  his  name,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  list :  J .  Preface  to  the  Oration  of  Stephen. 
Gardiner,  bishop  of  Winchester,  concerning  true  Obedi* 
ence.  Printed  at  London,  in  Latin,  1534,  1535,  and  at 
Hamburgh  in  1536,  8vo.  Translated  into  English  by  Mi- 
chael Wood,  a  zealous  Protestant,  with  a  bitter  preface  to 
the  reader,  and  a  postscript,  Roan,  1553,  8vo.  It  is  also 
inserted  in  J.  Fox's  book  of  Martyrs.  In  the  preface  Bon- 
der speaks  much  in  favour  of  king  Henry  the  Vlllth's 
marriage  with  Ann  Boleyn,  and  against  the  tyranny  exer- 
cised by  the  bishop  of  Rome  in  this  kingdom.  2.  Several 
letters  to  the  lord  Cromwell.  3.  A  declaration  to  lord 
Cromwell,  describing  to  him  the  evil  behaviour  of  Stephen 
(bishop  of  Winchester),  with  special  causes  therein  con- 
talaed,  wherefore  and  why  he  misjiked  of  him.  4.  Letter 
of  his  about  the  proceedings  at  Rome  concerning  the  king's 
divorce  from  Catherine  of  Arragon.  5.  An  admonition  and 
Advertisement  given  by  the  bishop  of  London  to  all  readers 
of  the  Bible  in  the  English  tongue.  6.  Injunctions  given 
hy  Bonner,  bishop  of  London,  to  his  clergy  (about  preach- 
ing, with  the  names  of  books  prohibited).  7.  Letter  to 
Mr.  Lechmere.  8.  Responsum  &  exhortatio,  Lond.  1553, 
S^o.  Answer  and  exhortation  to  the  clergy  in  praise  of 
priesthood  :  spoken  by  the  author  in  St.  Paul's  cathedral, 
the  i6th  October,  1553,  after  a  sermon  preached  before 
the  clergy,,  by  John  Harpesfield.  9.  A  letter  to  Mr.  Lech- 
Vot.  VL  F 


65  B  O  N  N  E  It 

mere,  6th  September,  1553.  10.  Articles  to  be  enqairecl 
of  in  the  general  visitation  of  Edmund  bishop  of  London, 
exercised  by  him  in  1554,  in  the  city  and  diocese  of  Lon- 
don, &c.  To  ridicule  them,  John  Bale,  bishop  of  Ossory^ 
wrote  a  book,  entitled,  A  declaration  of  Edmund  Bonner's 
articles,  concerning  the  clergy  of  London  diocese,  whereby 
that  execrable  anti-christ  is  in  his  right  colours  retealed^ 
1554,  and  1561,  8vo.  1 1.  A  profitable  and  necessary  doc- 
trine, containing  an  exposition  on  the  Creed,  seven*  Sacra-^ 
mei^ts,  ten  Commandments,  the  Pater  Noster,  Ave  Maria, 
with  certain  homilies  adjoining  thereto,  for  the  instruction 
and  information  of  the  diocese  of  London,  Lond.  1554*5, 
4to.  This  book  was  drawn  up  by  his  chaplains  John 
Harpesfield  and  Henry  Pendleton ;  the  former  part  of  it, 
which  is  catechism,  is  mostly  taken  out  of  the  Instittition 
of  a  Christian  man,  set  out  by  king  Heiiry  VIIL  only  va- 
ried in  some  points.  12.  Several  letters,  declarations,  ar- 
guings,  disputes,  &c.  of  his  are  extant  in  John  Fox*s 
book  of  Martyrs,  vol.  last.  13.  His  objections  against  the 
process  of  Robert  Horn,  bishop  of  Winchester,  who  had 
tendered  the  oath  of  supremacy  to  him  a  second  time,  are 
preserved  by  Mr.  Strype  in  his  Annals  of  the  Reformation. 
The  character  of  bishop  Bonner  is  so  familiar  to  our  rea- 
ders as  to  require  little  illustration,  or  any  addition  to  the 
preceding  account  from  the  former  edition  of  this  Diction* 
'  ary  ;  yet  some  notice  may  be  taken  of  the  defence  set  up* 
by  the  Roman  Catholic  historians.  Dodd,  alluding  to  his 
cruelties,  says,  that  ^'  Seeing  he  proceeded  according  to 
the  statutes  then  in  force,  and  by  the  direction  of  the  le- 
gislative power,  he  stands  in  need  of  no  apology  on  that 
score.^'  But  the  history  of  the  times  proves  that  Bonner'si 
character  cannot  be  protected  by  a  reference  to  the  sta- 
tutes, unless  his  vindicator  can  likewise  prove  that  he  had 
no  baud  in  enacting  those  statutes ;  and  even  if  this  were 
eonceded,  his  conduct  will  not  appear  less  atrocious,  be- 
cause,  not  content  with  the  sentence  of  the  law  carried  into 
execution  by  the  accustomed  officers,  Bonner  took  fre- 
quent opportunities  to  manifest  the  cruelty  of  his  disposi- 
tion by  anticipating,  or  aggravating,  the  legal  punishments^ 
He  sometimes  whipped  the  prisoners  with  his  own  bands, 
till  he  was  tired  with  the  violence  of  the  exercise ;  and  oa 
one  occasion  he  tore  out  the  beard  of  a  weaver  wlio  refused 
to  relinquish  his  religion ;  and  that  he  might  give  him  a 
specimen  of  burning,  he  held  his  hand  to  a  candle,  till 


BONNER.  6> 

the  stuews  and  veins  shrunk  and  burst  *.  The  fact  is,  that 
Bonner  was  constitutionally  cruel,  and  delighted  in  the 
sufferings  he  inflicted.  Granger  very  justly  says,  that 
^^  Nature  seems  to  have  designed  him  for  an  executioner,^' 
and  as,  wherever  he  could,  he  performed  the  character,  how 
can  he  be  defended  by  an  appeal  to  the  statutes  ?  The 
most  remarkable  circumstance  in  his  history  is  the  lenity 
shown  to  him  after  all  this  bloody  career.  There  seems 
no  reason  to  think  that  he  would  have  even  been  de- 
prived of  his  bishopric,  had  he  consented  to  take  the  oaths 
of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  a  circumstance  which  is 
surely  very  extraordinary.  His  compliance,  had  he  taken 
that  step,  could  have  been  only  hypocritical,  and  what  an 
object  it  would  have  been  to  have  seen  the  duties  and 
power  of  a  protestant  prelate  intrusted  to  such  a  monster, 
and  in  that  diocese,  where  st  many  families  preserved  the 
bitter  remembrance  of  his  cruelty  1  ^ 

BONNET  (Charles),  an  ^uinent  natural  philosopher, 
was  bom  at  Geneva,  on  the  13  th  of  March,  1720.  His 
ancestors,  who  were  compelled  to  emigrate  from  France, 
in  1572,  after  the  dreadful  slaughter  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
day,  established  themselves  at  Geneva,  where  his  grand;^ 
father  was  advanced  to  the  magistracy.  His  father,  who 
preferred  the  station  of  a  private  citizen,  paid  unremitted 
attention  to  the  education  of  his  son,  which  the  latter  re« 
compensed,  at  a  very  early  period,  by  the  amiableness  of 
his  disposition,  and  the  rapid  progress  he  made  in  general 
literature.  When  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  applied 
himself  with  great  eagerness,  to  the  perusal  of  '<  Le 
Spectacle  de  la  Nature,*'  and  this  work  made  such  a  deep 
impression  on  his  mind,  that  it  may  be  saiflTto  have  di* 
rected  the  taste  and  the  studies  of  his  future  life.  What 
that  publication  had  commenced,  was  confirmed  by  the 
work  of  La  Pluche ;  but  having  accidentally  seen  the  trea- 
tise of  Reaumur  upon  insects,  be  was  in  a  transport  of  joy. 
He  was  very  impatient  to  procure  the  book,  but,  as  the 

*  There  it,  says  Granger,  a  wooden  on  the  fool,  how  could  he  get  my  pic* 
print  of  hioiy  whipping  Thomas  Hin-  ture  drawn  so  right !"  There  is  ano- 
shawe,  iu  the  first  edition  of  Pox's  ther  print  of  him  in  that  book,  burning 
'*  Acts  and  Monuments."  Sir  John  a  man's  bands  with  a  candle.  With  re* 
Harrington  tells  us  that  **  when  Bon-  gard  to  his  corpulence,  a  punster  of 
■er  WBS  shown  this  print  in  the  Book  of  the  times  said  of  htm,  that  **  ha  was 
Martyrs  on  purpose  to  vex  him,  be  full  of  guts,  but  empty  of  bowels." 
laughed  at  it,  saying,  "  A  vengeance 

'  Biog.  Brit — ^Burnet's  Hist,  of  the  Reformation. — Strype's  Life  of  Cranmer, 
Amiais  and  Memorial^.— ^jPox^s  Acts  and  Monom^Dts.— Dodd's  Qi.  Hist.  vol.  1. 

F  3 


^8  BONNET. 

only  copy  in  Geneva  belonged  to  a  public  library,  and  as 
the  librarian  was  reluctant  to  entrust  it  in  the  bands  of  a 
youth,  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  he  could  ob- 
tain his  end.  By  the  possession  of  this  treasure,  our  as« 
siduous  youth  was  enabled  to  make  several  new  and  curi- 
ous experiments,  which  he  communicated  to  Reaumur  him- 
self; and  the  high  applause  be  gained,  from  so  great  a 
naturalist,  added  fresh  vigour  to  his  assiduity. 

In  compliance  with  bis  father's  desires,  be  applied  him- 
self, though  with  much  reluctance,  to  the  study  of  the 
Jaw.  The  works  of  Burlamaqui  pleased  him  the  most,  on 
account  of  the  perspicuous  and  philosophic  manner  in 
which  the  subject  was  treated ;  the  institutes  of  Heinec- 
cius  gave  him  some  courage  also,  as  he  perceived  order 
and  connection ;  but  the  Roman  law  terrified  him.  Not- 
withstanding his  application  tp  these  authors,  he  still  con- 
tinued attached  to  natural  history,  and  was  very  active  in 
making  experiments.  Some  experiments  respecting  tree- 
lice  happening  to  be  communicated  by  Reaumur  to  the 
academy  of  sciences,  occasioned  an  epistolary  correspon- 
dence between  M.  Bonnet  and  that  great  naturalist,  a  cir- 
cumstance, doubtless,  very  flattering  to  a  youth  of  twenty 
years,,  and  the  letter  of  Reaumur  was  accompanied  with  a 
present  of  that  very  book  which  he  had  borrowed,  with  so 
much  difficulty,  two  years  before. 

Animated  by  such  distinguished  marks  of  approbation, 
he  diligently  employed  every  moment  her  could  steal  from 
the'  study  of  jurisprudence  to  the  completion  of  his  natural 
history  of  the  tree-louse  ;  to  experiments  on  the  respira- 
tion of  caterpillars  and  butterflies,  which  he  discovered  to 
be  effected  b^  stigmata,  or  lateral  pores  ;  to  an  examina- 
tion of  the  construction  of  the  tinea,  or  tapeworm ;  in  fre- 
quent correspondence  with  Reaumur;  and  in  assisting 
Trembley  in  his  discoveries  and  publication  concerning 
millepedes,  &c.  Having,  in  1743,  obtained  the  degree 
of  doctor  of  laws,  he  relinquished  a  pursuit  which  he  had 
commenced  with  so  much  reluctance.  In  the  same  year 
he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  royal  society  of  Lon- 
don, to  which  he  had  communicated  a  treatise  on  insects. 

Bonnet  being  now  liberated  from  his  other  pursuits,  ap- 
plied himself,  without  intermission,  to  collecting,  together 
bis  experiments  and  observations  concerning  the  tree-louse 
and  the  worm,  which  he  published  in  1744,  under  the* 
title  of  ^^  Insectology."     This  work  acquired  deserved  ap- 


BONNET,  60 

probation  from  the  public,  and  was  honoured  by  the  com- 
mendation  of  the  celebrated  B.  de  Jussieu.  He  was  re- 
proached, however,  as  some  other  naturalists  have  de* 
served,  with  having  paid  too  little  attention  to  the  delicacj 
of  his  reader,  though  his  patience  and  accuracy  were  ac- 
knowledged to  be  deserving  of  praise.  Such  unremitted 
application  and  labour  could  not  fail  of  becoming  injurious 
to  bis  health.  Inflammations,  nervous  fever,  sore  eyjes,  &c. 
compelled  him  to  relinquish  the  use  of  the  microscope  and 
the  study  of  insects.  This  prevention  was  so  extremely 
mortifying  to  a  man  of  his  taste  and  activity  of  mind,  that 
be  was  thrown  into  a  deep  melancholy,  which  could  only 
be  subdued  by  the  resolution  inspired  by  philosophy,  and 
the  consoTations  Qf  religion ;  these  gradually  roused  him 
from  a  dejected  state  of  mind.  About  the  end  of  1746, 
he  was  chosen  member  of  the  literary  institution  at  Bo- 
logna, which  introduced  him  to  a  correspondence  with  the 
celebrated  Zanotti,  who  may  be  deemed  the  Fontenelle  of 
Italy. 

la  1747,  he  undertook  a  very  difficult  work  on  the 
leaves  of  plants ;  which,  of  all  his  publications  in  natural 
history,  bore  the  strongest  marks  of  originality,  both  with 
respect  to  the  manner  in  which  his  experiments  were  made, 
and  the  discoveries  resulting  from  them.  But  from  this 
extreme  attachment  to  natural  history,  he  was  gradually  led 
to  a  study  of  a  very  diiFerent  nature ;  and  speculative  phi- 
losophy now  engaged  his  whole  attention.  The  first  result 
of  his  meditations  in  this  department  was  his  '^  Essay 
on  Psychology,"  in  which  the  principal  facts  observable 
in  human  nature,  and  the  consequences  resulting  from 
them,  are  stated  in  a  concise  and  perspicuous  manner*  He 
contemplated  man,  from  the  first  moment  of  his  existence, 
and  pursued  the  developement  of  his  sensies  and  faculties, 
from  simple  growth  up  to  intelligence.  This  work,  which 
was  published  without  his  name,  met  with  great  opposi- 
tion, and  was  criticised  with  severity ;  but  the  censures 
were  directed  more  against  his  expressions  than  his  prin- 
ciples, nor  were  they  of  sufficient  importance  to  impede 
the  general  acceptance  of  the  performance.  His  ^^  Analy- 
sis of  the  mental  faculties"  was  simply  a  developement  of 
the  ideas  contained  in  the  preceding  work.  It  engaged 
his  incessant  attention  for  the  space  of  five  yeiurs;  nor  was 
it  completed  before  1759.  It  is  somewhat  singular,  that 
both  he  and  the  abb^  de  Condillac  should  have  illustrated 


70  BONNET. 

• 

tbeir  principles  by  the  supposition  of  a  statue,  organized 
like  the  human  body,  which  they  conceived  to  be  gradu- 
ally inspired  wilh  a  soul,  and  the  progressive  enlargement 
of  whose  powers  they  carefully  traced.  In  1760  this  work 
was  published  at  Copenhagen  by  order  and  at  the  expence 
of  Frederic  v.;  and  it  was  followed  in  1762  by  "Con- 
siderations on  organized  bodies/'  in  which  the  author  had 
three  principal  objects  before  him ;  the  first  was  to  give  a 
concise  view  of  every  thing  which  appears  interesting  in 
natural  history,  respecting  the  origin,  growth,  and  re- 
production of  organized  bodies ;  the  second  was  to  confute 
the  two  different  systems  founded  upon  the  Epigenesis; 
and  the  third  was  to  explain  the  system  of  Germs,  indicate 
the  ground  upon  which  it  was  founded,  its  correspondence 
with  facts,  and  the  consequences  resulting  from  it.  This 
work  was  received  with  much  satisfaction  by  natural  philo- 
sophers. The  academy  of  Berlin,  which  had  proposed  the 
same  subject,  as  a  prize-question  for  1761,  declared  that 
they  considered  this  treatise  as  the  offspring  of  close  obser- 
vation and  profound  reasoning ;  and  that  the  author  would 
have  had  an  undubitable  right  to  the  prize,  if  he  had  confined 
bis  labours  to  the  precise  statement  of  the  question,  and 
Malesherbes  reversed  the  interdict  which  the  public  censor 
had  laid  upon  this  book,  as  containing  dangerous  princi- 
ples. 

The  **  Contemplations  of  Nature"  appeared  in  1764* 
In  this  work,  the  author  first  enlarged  upon  the  comnion 
conceptions' entertained  concerning  the  existence  and  per- 
fections of  God  5  and  of  the  order  and  uniformity  obser^^^- 
able  in  the  universe.  He  next  descends  to  man,  examines 
the  parts  of  his  composition,  and  the  various  <;apacities 
with  which  he  is  endowed.  He  next  proceeds  to  the 
plants  :  assembles  and  describes  the  laws  of  their  Geco-» 
nomy ;  and  finally,  he  examines  the  insects,  indicates  the 
principal  circumstances  in  which- they  differ  from  large 
animals,  and  points  out  the  philosophical  inferences  that 
may  legitimately  be  deduced  from  these  differences ;  and 
he  concludes  with  observations  respecting  the  industry  of 
insects.  This  work  being  of  a  popular  nature,  the  author 
apared  no  pains  in  bestowing  upon  it  those  ornaments  of 
which  it  was  susceptible.  The  principles  which  he  thus 
discovered  and  explained,  induced  him  to  plan  a  system 
of  moral  philosophy ;  which,  according  to  his  ideas,  oon-^ 
pisted  solely  in  the  observance  of  that. relation  in  which 


BONNET.  71 

.  mantis  placjsd,  respecting  all  the  beings  that  surround  him. 
The  first  branch  would  have  comprehended  various  means, 
which  philosophy  and  the  medical  science  have  discovered, 
for  the  prevention  of  disease,  the  preservation  and  aug- 
mentation of  the  corporeal  powers,  and  the  better  exertion 
of  their  force :  in  the  second,  he  proposed  to  show,  that 
natural  philosophy  has  a  powerful  tendency  to  embellish 
and  improve  our  mind,  and  augment  tbe  number  of  our 
rational  amusements,  while  it  is  replete  with  beneficial  ef- 
fects respecting  the  society  at  large.  To  manifest  the. 
invalidity  of  opinions,  merely  hypothetical,  he  undertook, 
in  the  third  place,  to  examine,  whether  there  were  not 
truths  within  the  compass  of  human  knowledge,  to  which 
the  most  sceptical  philosopher  must  be  compelled  to  yidd 
his  consent,  and  which  might  serve  as  the  basis  of  all  our 
reasonings  concerning  man  and  his  various  relations.  He 
then  would  have  directed  his  attention  to  a  first  cause, 
and  have  manifested  how  greatly  the  idea  of  a  deity,  and  su- 
preme law'giver,  favoured  tbe  conclusions  which  reason 
had  drawn  from  the  nature  and  properties  of  things ;  but 
his  ill  health,  impaired  by  incessant  labour,  would  not 
permit  him  to  complete  the  design.  His  last  publication 
was  the  "  Palingenesis,'*  which  treats  of  the  prior  exist* 
ence  and  future  state  of  living  beings. 
~  Of  his  publications  in  natural  history,  those  deemed  the 
most  excellent,  are,  his  Treatise  on  the  best  means  of  pre- 
serving Insects  and  Fish  in  cabinets  of  Natural  History.; 
a  dissertation  on  the  Loves  of  the  Plants;  sundry  pieces 
on  the  experiments  of  Spalianzani,  concerning  the  repro- 
duction of  tbe  head  of  the  Snail ;  a  dissertation  on  the  Pipa, 
or  Surinam  Toad ;  and  different  treatises  on  Bees. 

In  1783,  he  was  elected  honorary  member  of  the  aca- 
demy of  sciences  at  Paris,  and  of  the  academy  of  scien- 
ces and  the  bielles  lettres  at  Berlin.  Much  of  his  time  was 
employed  in  a  very  extensive  correspondence  with  some  of 
the  most  celebrated  natural  'philosophers  and  others.  Of 
this  number  were  Reaumur;  De  Geer,  the  Reaumur  of  Swe- 
den ;  Du  Hamel ;  the  learned  Haller ;  the  experimental 
philosopher  Spalianzani ;  Van  Swieten*;  Meriail ;  and  that 
ornament  of  Swit;zerland,  the  great  Lambert,  He  enter- 
tained,  however,  the  utmost  aversion  to  controversy.  He 
thought  that  no  advantage  to  be  obtained  by  it  could  com- 
pensate for  the  loss  of  that  repose  which  he  valued,  with 
.^Newton,  as  the  rem  prorms  substantiakm.     He  never 


72  bonnet: 

answered  remarks  that  were  made  to  the  prejudice  of  his 
writings,  but  left  the  decision  with  the  public :  yet,  ever 
ready  to  acknowledge  his  errors,  he  was  sincerely  thankful 
to  every  one  who  contributed  to  the  perfection  of  his  works. 
He  was  used  to  say,  that  one  confession,  ^^  I  was  in  the 
wrong,''  is  of  more  value  than  a  thousand  ingenious 
confutations.  His  literary  occupations,  and  the  care  he 
was  obliged  to  take  of  his  health,  prevented  him  from  tra^ 
veiling.  He  delighted  in  retirement,  and  every  hour  was 
occupied  in  the  improvement  of  his  mind.  The  last 
twenty-five  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  the  same  rural 
situation  where  he  had  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  early 
days;  yet,  notwithstanding  the  pursuit  of  literature  was 
his  supreme  delight,  he  never  refused  to  suspend  his  stu- 
dies, when  the  good  of  his  country  seemed  to  demand  his 
services. 

He  was  chosen,  in  1752,  member  of  the  grand  council, 
in  the  republic  of  Geneva ;  and  he  assisted  regularly  at 
their  deliberations,  till  1768,  where  he  distinguished  him- 
self by  his  eloquence,  his  moderation,  united  with  firm- 
ness ;  by  his  good  sense  and  penetration,  in  cases  of  difE- 
culty ;  and  by  the  zeal  with  which  he  endeavoured  to  re- 
claim his  fellow  citizens  to  that  ancient  simplicity  of  man- 
ners which  had  been  so  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  the 
state,  and  to  the  love  of  virtue,  so  essential  to  the  exist- 
ence of  genuine  liberty.  His  conduct,  in  every  case,  was 
consistent  with  his  principles.  He  took  no  pains  to  accu- 
mulate wealth,  but  remained  satisfied  with  a  fortune,  equal 
tb  his  moderate  wants,  and  to,  the  exercise  of  his  benevo- 
lence. The  perfect  correspondence  between  his  extensive 
knowledge  and  virtuous  deeds,  procured  him  universal 
»  esteem. 

In  the  year  1788,  evident  symptoms  of  a  dropsy  of  the 
chest  manifested,  themselves  ;' and  from  this  time  he  gra- 
dually declined.  He  sustained  his  indisposition  with  un- 
remitted cheerfulness  and  composure.  After  various  fluc- 
tuations, usual  in  that  complaint,  he  died,  on  the  20th  of 
May,  1793,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age;  retaining 
his  presence  of  mind  to  the  last  moment;  administering 
comfort  to  surrounding  friends  and  relatives ;  and  attempt- 
ing to  alleviate  the  distress  of  his  disconsolate  wife,  in 
whose  arms  he  expired. 

As  a  demonstration  of  the  high  value  placed  upon  his 
labours  and  talents,  by  the  literati,  we  have  only  to  add, 


B  O  N  N  ET  T.  73 

that  lie  was  member  of  most  of  the  learned  societies  of  Eu* 
rorpe.  The  latter  part  of  his  life  was  employed  in  revising 
his  works,  of  which  a  complete  edition  was  published  at 
Neuchatel  in  9  vols.  4to,  or  18  vols.  Svo,  containing,  be- 
sides these  already  noticed,  several  smaller  pieces  in  na** 
taral  history  and  metaphysics.  Notwithstanding  the  high 
praises  bestbwed  on  Bonnet  by  his  countrymen,  there  are 
many  parts  of  his  works  which  must  be  read  with  caution, 
nor,  where  there  is  not  much  danger  iu  his  speculations, 
is  he  always  a  very  conclusive  reasoner.  ^ 

BONNEVAL  (Claudius  Alexander  de),  count,  known  * 
in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  by  the  name  of  Osman  Bashaw, 
descended  from  a  family  related  to  the  blood  royal  of 
France,  was  born  in  1672,  and  entered  himself  at  the  age 
of  sixteen,  in  the  service  of  that  crown,  and  married  the 
daughter  of  marshal  de  Biron.     He  made  the  campaign  in 
Flanders  in  1690,  but  soon  after  left  the  French  army, 
and  entered  into  t}^  Imperial  service  under  prince  Eugene, 
who  honoured  him  with  an  intimate  friendship.    The  in-p 
trigues  of  the  marquis  de  Pri£,  his  inveterate  enemy,  mined 
his  credit  however  at  the  court  of  Vienna,  and  caused  him 
to  be  banished  the  empire.     He  then  offered  his  service  to 
the  republic  of  Venice,  and  to  Russia ;  which  being  de- 
clined, his  next  tender  was  to  the  grand  Signior,  who 
gladly  received  him :  it  was  stipulated  that  he  should  have 
a  body  of  30,000  men  at  his  disposal ;  that  a  government 
should  be  conferred  on  him,  with  the  rank  of  bashaw  of 
three   tails;  a  salary  of   10,000  aspers  a  day,  equal  to 
45,000  livres  a  year;  and  that  in  case  of  a  war,  he  should 
be  commander  in  chief.     The  first  expedition  he  engaged 
in  after  his  arrival  at  Constantinople,  was  to  quell  an  in- 
surrection in  Arabia  Petrsea,  which  he  happily  effected  ; 
and  at  his  return,  had  large  offers  made  him  by  Kouli 
Khan,  which  he  did  not  choose  to  accept.     Some  time 
after,  he  commanded  the  Turkish  army  against  the  em- 
peror, over  whose  forces  he  gained  a  victory  on  the  bank^ 
of  the  Danube.     But  success  does  not  always  protect  a    , 

Serson  against  disgrace ;  for  Bonneval,  notwithstanding 
is  service,  was  first  imprisoned,  and  then  banished  to  the 
island  of  Chio*  The  sultan,  however,  continued  his  friend; 
and  the  evening  before  bis  departure  made  him  bashaw 
general  of  the  Archipelago,  which,  with  his  former  apr 

V  1  MemoireAour  servhr  a  Phistoirey  &c.  de  M.  Charles  Bonnet,  BerOi  Svo* 


74  B  O  N  N  E  V  A  L. 

pointment  of  beglerbcg  of  Arabia,  rendered  hiiri  one  of  the 
most  powerful  persons  in  the  Ottoman  empire.  In  this 
island,  he  found  a  retirement  agreeable  to  his  wishes,  but 
did  not  long  enjoy  it,  being  sent  for  back,  and  made  to- 
pigi  or  master  of  the  ordnance,  a  post  of  great  honour  and 
profit.  He  died  in  this  employment,  aged  75,  in  1747; 
and  wrote  the  memoirs  of  his  own  life,  which  were  pub- 
lished in  London  in  1755,  2  vols.  12aK),  and  give  but  an 
indifferent  idea  of  his  personal  character.  ^ 

BONONE   (Carlo),    an  eminent  artist,   was  born   at 
Ferrarain  1569,-  and  died  in  1632.     He  was  the  scholar  of 
Bastaruolo,  and  the  rival  of  Scarselliuo,  whose  suavity  of 
manner  he  attempted  to  eclipse  by  energy  and  grandeur. 
He  studied  at  Bologna,  for  that  purpose,  the  Carracci ;  at 
Rome,  with  nature  and  the  antique,  perhaps  the  Roman 
style;    at  Venice,  Paolo,  and   at  Parma,    Corregio.     In 
compositions  of  a  few  figures  only,   he  resem-bles   Lod. 
Carracci  sometimes  to  a  degree  of  delusion  ;  but  in  works 
of  numerous  grouping,  suph.  as  the  "Feast  of  Herod,'* 
and  the  "  Nuptials  of  Cana,"  at  Ferrara,  and  chiefly  in 
.  the  "  Supper  of  Ahasuerus,'*    at  Ravenna^  he  rivals   in 
abundance  and  aiTangement  the  ornamental  style  of  Paolo* 
At  St.  Maria  in  Vado  at  Fen*ara,  his  science  in  Corre* 
giesque  fore-shortening  and  forcible  effects  of  chiaroscuro^ 
itxed  and  astonished  the  eye  of  Guercino.     His  cabinet 
pictures  possess  a  high  degree  of  finish.     That  such  powers 
should  not  hitherto  have  procured  Bonone  an  adeqi!kate  de-- 
gree  of  celebrity  in  the  annals  of  painting,  proves  only, 
tiiat  no  felicity  of  imitation  can  ever  raise  its  possesisors  to 
the  honours  of  originality  and' invention.  * 

BONOSUS,  an  ancient  prelate  of  the  fourth  century, 
is  known  in  church  history  as  the  heretical  bishop  of 
Naissus  in  Dacia,  though  some  authors  say  of  Sardica^  the 
metropolis  of  that  province.  In  the  year  391  he  was  ac* 
cused  of  crimes  against  the  canons  of  the  church  and  the 
law  of  God,  and  was  reported  for  heresy  at  the  council  of 
Capua,  which  met  the  latter  end  of  that  year.  The  par- 
ticulars of  his  crimes  cannot  now  be  known,  but  his  heresy 
may  be  gathered  from  St.  Augustih  and  St.  Ambrose.  He 
had, 'before,  been  condemned  by  Damasus,  bishop  of  Rome, 
who  died  A.  D.  384.  The  council  of  Capua  committed  the 
hearing  of  his  cause  to  the  bishops  of  Mecodon,  his  neighs 

1  Memoire.— Diet.  Hist  *  PilkiD^toxi  by  FuselK 


B  O  N  O  S  U  S.  75 

hours,  under  their  metropolitan  Anysius,  hishop  of  Thes- 
salonica.  The  bishops  assembled,  agreeably  to  the  order 
of  the  council,  and  Bonosus  appeared  before  them ;  after 
examination,  they  were  so  well  convinced  of  the  truth  of 
the  charge,  that  they  immediately  suspended  him  from 
all  episcopal  functions ;  at  the  same  time  writing#a  letter 
to  Syricius  bishop  of  Rome,  declaring  their  abhorrence  of 
the  detestable  error,  that  the  virgin  Mary  should  have  other 
children  than  Christ.  Bonosus  died  A.  D.  410;  but  his 
doctrine  did  not  die  with  him,  being  maintained  by  some 
200  years  aftes  his  death.  Pope  Gregory  makes  mention 
of  the  Bonosians  in  the  latter  end  of  the  sixth  century.' 

BONTEMPI  (Akgeuni),  a  native  of  Perugia,  and  au- 
thor of  the  first  history  of  music  in  the  Italian  language 
with  which  we  are  acquainted,  was  nn  able  professor,  of 
considerable  learning,  who  flourished  about  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth^  century.  His  work,  which  has  for  title 
*^  Historia  Musica  di  Gio.  And.  Angelini  Bontempi,''  was 
published  at  Perugia,  in  small  folio,  1695.  It  is  become 
somewhat  scarce,  which  enhances  its  value  with  collectors 
of  books;  but  Dr.  Bqrney^s  opinion  is  unfavourable.  He 
says  that  with  great  parade  of  his  learning,  science,  and 
acquaintance  with  the  Greek  theorists,  that  are  come  down 
to  us,  he  leaves  us  in. as  utter  darkness  concerning  the 
practice  of  ancient  music  as  ever,  and  has  furnished  us 
with  but  little  information  concerning  the  modern  of  his 
own  time,  with  which,  however,  as  a  contrapuntist,  he 
seems  to  have  been  perfectly  well  acquainted.  Indeed,  by 
the  frequent  use  he  makes  of  scientific  terms,  his  book, 
when  casually  opened,  has  more  the  appearance  of  a  dry 
mathematical  treatise,  than  the  history  of  an  elegant  art. 
The  most  curious  and  interesting  pari  of  his  work  is,  the 
account  which  he  gives  of  the  discipline  of  the  college  of 
singers  in  the  service  of  the  pontifical  chapel,  and  of  the 
great  masters  who  then  flourished  at  Rome,  who  had  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  writing  '^  Alia  Palestrina^*  for  the 
church  :  secular  music  was  then  but  little  cultivated,  and 
less  respected  there',  till  operas  and  oratorios  had  made 
some  progress  in  polishing  melody,  and  in  the  just  ac« 
centuation  and  expression  of  words.  ^ 

BONTEMS  (Madame),  a  lady  who  was  born  at  Paris 
in  1718,  and  died  in  the  same  city  April  18,  1768,  had 

^  Burney'K  and  Hawkins's  Hist,  of  Music. — Rees's  Cyclopsedia. 


76  B  O  N  T  E  M  S. 

received  from  nature  a  good  understanding  and  an  excel<- 
lent  taste,  which  were  cultivated  by  a  suitable  education. 
She  possessed  the  foreign  languages,  and  was  mistress  of 
all  the  delicate  turns  of  her  o\vn.  It  is.  to  her  that  the 
French  are  indebted  for  a  translation,  said  to  be  accurate 
and  elegant,  of  Thomson's  Seasons,  1759,  12mo.  Madame 
Bontems  had  a  select  society  that  frequented  her  house, 
and  though  she  had  a  great  talent  for  wit,  she  only  made 
use  of  it  for  displaying  that  of  others.  She  was  not  less 
esteemed  for  the  qualities  of  her  heart  than  those  of  her 
mindJ 

BONTIUS  (Gerard),  professor  in  medicine  at  the  uni- 
rersity  of  Leyden  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury^ was  a  man  of  profound  erudition,  and  critically 
versed  in  the  Greek  language.  He  was  born  at  Ryswick, 
a  small  village  of  Guelderland,  and  died  at  Leyden,  Sept. 
15,  1599,  sixty-three  years  old.  Bontius  is  the  inventor 
of  a  composition  of  pills,  which,  from  his  name,  are  called 
Pilulse  tartar^se  Bontii.  The  Dutch  for  a  long  time  kept 
this  composition  a  secret;  but  they  have  been  analysed  by 
the  industry  of  some  physicians,  and  the  ingredients  are 
now  well  known.  He  wrote  some  commentaries  on  Hipr- 
pocrates,  but  published  no  part  of  them.  He  left  two 
sons,  both  eminent  in  the  medical  art,  James  and  Heyner.  * 

BONTIUS  (James),  called  by  some,  JoHL>f,  a  native  of 
I^eyden,  was  educated  in  philosophy  and  medicine  under 
his  father,  Geraixl ;  and  being  sent  to  the  East  Indies, 
practised  physic  at  Batavia  about  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  On  his  return  to  Europe  he  wrote  several 
valuable  works  on  the  diseases  and  practice  of  medicine  of 
India.  These  are,  ^*  De  conservanda  Valetudine,  ac  dieta 
sanis  in  India  observandis  ;*'  ^'  Methodus  medendi,  quiL 
oportet  in  India  orients^li  uti;'*  "  Observationes  selectae 
ex  dissectione  cadaverum  ac  autopsia  descriptse.*'  He  also 
published  curious  observations  relating  to  the  botany  and 
natural  history  of  those  regions,  especially  the  vegetables 
used  in  medicine  and  diet,  in  his  work  entitled  **  De  Me- 
dicina  Indorum,'*  in  1642,  and  afterwards,  with  Alpinus's 
work,  "  De  Medicina  iEgyptiorum,'*  1718,  4to.  He  also 
published  "  Historia  Nat.  et  Med.  Indi®  orientalis,''  1658,- 
fbl.     His  brother  Reyner  was  many  years  professor  of  me- 

1'  Di«*t.  Historique. 

%  Freber^  Tbeatruin.<^IcoaeB  aQ  ViUe  Rect.  Acad*  Lei(^n>  4to,  HI 4^ 


B  O  N  W  I  C  K  E.  77 

dicine  at  Leyden,  and  rector  of  the  university.     He  died 
in  1623.* 

BONWICKE  (Ambrose),  a  nonjuring  clergyman  of 
great  piety  and  learning,  son  of  the  rev.  John  Bonwicke, 
rector  of  Mickleham  in  Surrey,  was  born  April  2 9>  1652, 
and  educated  at  Merchant  Taylors  school.  Thence  he  was 
elected  to  St.  John^s  college,  Oxford,  in  1668,  where  he 
was  appointed  librarian  in  1670  ;  B.  A.  1673  ;  M.  A.  March 
18,  1675;  was  ordained  deacon  May  21,  1676;  priest, 
June  6  (Trinity  Sunday),  i680  ;  proceeded  B.  D.  July  21, 
1682  ;  and  was  elected  master  of  Merchant  Taylors  school 
June  9,  1686.  In  1689,  the  college  of  St.  John's  peti- 
tioned the  Merchant  Taylors  company,  that  he  might  con- 
tinue master  of  the  school  (which  is  a  nursery  for  their 
college)  for  life;  but,  at  Christmas  1691,  he  was  turned 
out  for  refusing  to  take  tne  oath  of  allegiance,  and  was 
afterwards  for  many  years  master  of  a  celebrated  school  at 
Headley,  near  Leatherhead  in  Surrey,  where  he  bad  at 
one  time  the  honour  of  having  the  poet  Fenton  for  his 
usher^  and  Bowyer  (who  was  afterwards  the  learned  prin- 
ter) for  a  sgholar. 

Mr.  Nichols  has  in  MS.  a  curious  correspondence  of 
Mr.  Bonwicke  with  Mr.  Blecbynden,  on  occasion  of  his 
ejection  from  the  Merchant  Taylors  school,  with  many  of 
his  college  exercises,  and  letters  to  his  father.  Some  let- 
ters, which  convey  an  admirable  idea  of  his  unaffected 
piety  and  goodness,  may  be  seen  in  the  Life  of  Bowyer. 
A  copy  of  his  verses,  whilst  fellow  of  St.  John's,  is  printed 
in  an  Oxford  collection,  on  the  death  of  king  Charles  II. 
1685.  By  his  wife  (Elizabeth  Stubbs)  Mr.  Bonwicke  had 
twelve  children,,  one  of  whom  furnished  the  subject  of  a 
very  interesting  little  volume,  entitled  "  A  Pattern  for 
Young  Students  in  the  University,  i^et  forth  in  the  Life  of 
Mr.  Ambrose  Bonwicke,  some  time  scholar  of  St.  John's 
College,  Cambridge,'*  1729,  12mo,  of  which  Mrl  Nichols 
has  given  an  excellent  analysis,  with  additions,  in  his  late 
Literary  History.  * 

BOOKER  (John),  one  of  those  impostors  who  amused 
the  public  in  the  seventeenth  century,  was  born  at  Man- 
chester in  1601,  and  was  bred  a  haberdasher  in  Lawrence- 
lane,  London,  but  quitted  this  employment  and  followed 

1  Freheri  Tbeatrum.«-Icones  ac  Vile  Rect.  Acad.  Leidea,  4to,  1714. ^Reel's 
CyclapoMlia. 
*  Kicholi'ji  Bowyer,  ro\u  I.  and  V. 


TS  B  O  0  K  £  R. 

that  of  a  writing-master  at  Hadley  in  Middlesex,  and  ^M 
afterwards  for  some  time  clerk  to  the  sitting  aldermen  at 
Guildhall.  He  in  a  few  years  rendered  himself  so  eminent, 
that  he  was  appointed  licenser  of  mathematical  books,  under 
which  were  included  all  those  that  related  to  the  Celestial 
sciences.  Lilly  tells  us,  that  he  once  thought  him  the 
greatest  astrologer  in  the  world ;  but  it  appears  that  he 
afterwards  sunk  in  his  esteem,  and  that  he  thought  himself 
a  much  greater  man.  We  are  told  by  the  same  author, 
that  ^^  he  had  a  curious  fancy  in  judging  of  thefts,  and 
was  as  successful  in  resolving  love  questions,*'  which  was 
a  capital  branch  of  his  trade.  George  Wharton,  who  was 
formerly  one  bf  his  astrological  friends,  had  a  great  quarrel 
with  him,  which  occasioned  bis  publishing  **  Mercurio- 
Ccelico  Mastix  ;  or  an  Anti-caveat  to  all  such  as  have  here- 
tofore  had  the  misfortune  to  be  cheated  and  deluded  by 
that  great  and  treacherous  impostor  John  Booker ;  in  an 
answer  to  his  frivolous  pamphlet,  entitled  Mercurius  Ccer- 
licusy  or  a  Caveat  to  all  the  people  of  England ;"  Oxon. 
1644,  4to.  The  only  work  of  Booker's  worth  notice  is, 
his  "  Bloody  Irish  Almanac,'*  which  contains  some  me- 
morable particulars  relative  to  the  war  in  Ireland.  He 
died  April  1667,  and  his  books  were  sold  to  Elias  Ashmole, 
who,  as  Lilly  informs  us,  and  we  may  readily  believe,  gave 
more  for  them  than  they  were  worth.  * 

BOONEN  (Arnold),  a  portrait-painter,  was  born  at 
Dort,  in  1669,  and  after  having  been  for  some  time  a 
disoiple  of  Arnold  Verbuis,^  placed  himself  under  Godfrey 
Schalcken,  who  recommended  to  him,  after  having  re- 
ceived his  instructions  for  six' years,  to  study  nature.  By 
following  this  advice,  Boonen  obtained  the  reputation  of  a 
great  master  at  the  age  of  twenty*five  years.  His  style  of 
colouring  was  extremely  good  ;  the  attitudes  of  his  figures 
were  elegantly  disposed ;  his  touch  neat.  The  whole  pos-, 
sessed  such  harmony,  and  his  portraits  maintained  such  a 
striking  likeness,  that  he  was  ranked  among  the  ablest 
artists  of  his  time ;  he  had  a  number  of  admirers,  and  a 
greater  demand  for  works  than  he  was  able  to  execute.  He 
had  the  honour  of  painting  the  portraits  of  the  czar  of 
Muscovy,  of  Frederick  I.  king  of  Prussia,  of  the  victorious 
duke  of  Marlborough,  as  well  as  of  many  of  the  princes  of 
Germany,  and  most  of  the  noblemen  who  attended  the 

1  Granger.— Lilly's  life  and  Times,  p.  40,  edit  1774.  •  ' 


B  O  O  N  E  N.  7§ 

(pear.  His  health  was  impaired  by  his  excessive  appUca* 
tioD,  and  be  died  rich  in  1729.^ 

BOOT,  or  BOETIUS  (Gerard),  of  a  noble  family,  was 
bom  at  Gorcum,  in  Holland,  in  1604.  After  taking  his 
degree  of  doctor  in  medicine,  be  came  to  England,  and  was 
in  such  estimation  for  his  skill  in  his  profession,  that  he 
was  made  physician  to  king  Charles  I.  On  the  death  of 
that  prince  be  settled  in  Dublin,  but  died  soon  after,  viz. 
in  1650.  In  16S0  he  published  "  Heures  de  Recreation,'' 
4to,  in  the  Dutch  language;  and  in  1640,  ^^  Philosophia 
Naturalis  reformata,"  which  are  not,  howerer,  much  esteem- 
ed. His  brother  Arnold,  likewise  a  ph3;sician,  was  well 
versed  in  the  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  Syriac  languages. 
After  taking  his  degree  of  doctor  in  medicine,  he  came  also 
to  London  ;  but  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  troubles  here^ 
be  removed  to  Ireland,  where  be  practised  with  success 
and  reputation  for  some  years.  Tired  at  length  with  the 
hurry  aud  confusion  incident  to  civil  commotions,  and  hav- 
ing experienced  some  losses,  he  went  to  Pari#,  and  there 
passed  the  reminder  of  his  life  in  retirement  and  study. 
He  died  in  1653.  He  published,  in  1649,  ^^  Observationes 
Medicae  de  affectibus  a  veteribus  omissis,''  12mo.  Haller 
gives  a  particular  account  of  this  volume,  which  contains 
many  interesting  and  curious  observatit)os. ' 

BOORDE.     See  BORDE. 

BOOTH  (Abraham),  a  pious  and  popular  dissenting 
minister  of  the  Baptist  persuasion,  was  born  at  Black  well 
in  Derbyshire,  May  20,  1734,  of  poor  parents,  who  were 
unable  to  give  him  any  education.  He  spent  a  consi- 
derable part  of  his  youth  in  the  farming  business,  and  that 
of  the  stocking  frame,'  but  appears  to  have  during  this  time 
read  much,  and  at  length  began  to  preach  among  the  sect 
called  the  general  baptists,  throughout  the  towns  and  vil- 
lages in  his  neighbourhood.  In  his  twenty-third  year  he 
married ;  and  this  producing  a  numerous  family,  be  opened 
a  school  at  Sutton- Asb  field.  At  this  time  he  held  the 
doctrine  of  universal  redemption,  and  disliked  predestina- 
tion to  such  a  degree^ as  to  ridicule  it  in  a  poem  (of  which 
he  was  afterwards  ashamed),  but  he  now  changed  bis  sen- 
timents and  became  a  zealous  Calvinist  in  that  and  othei 
points  supposed  to  constitute  the  Calvinistic  system.    The 

4 

'■  Pilkingtoa. — Descamps,  vol.  IV. 

•  Haller,  Bibl.  Med. — Reel's  Cyclopaedia,— Moreri. 


/ 


80  BOOTH. 

consequence  of  this  change  was,  an  avowal  and  defence  of 
his  new  opinions  in  bis  first  publication,  *^  The  Reign  oi 
Grace,"  in  which  be  was  encouraged  by  the  late  rev.  Henry 
Venn,  vicar  of  Huddersfield,  who  wrote  a  recommendatory 
preface  to  it.  It  appeared  in  1768,  and  led  to  a  new  and 
important  aera  in  his  life,  being  so  much  approved  by  the 
congregation  of  particular  baptists  in  Prescot-street,  Good* 
man's  fields,  whose  pastor  was  just  dead,  that  they  invited 
Mr.  Booth  to  succeed  him.  This  invitation  he  accepted, 
and  in  Feb.  1769,  took  possession  of  bis  pulpit,  after  being 
regularly  ordained  for  the  first  time.  Here  he  appears  for 
some  years  to  have  spent  what  time  he  could  spare  from 
his  public  labours  in  laying  in  a  stock  of  knowledge ;  and 
although  he  always  lamented  the  want  of  a  regular  educa* 
lion,  his  proficiency,  and  the  extent  of  his  reading  were  so 
great  as  in  some  measure  to  redeem  his  time,  and  place 
him  on  a  footing,  both  as  a  scholar,  prwcher,  and  writer, 
with  the  ablest  of  his  bretbren.  He  knew  Greek  and 
Latin  usefully,  if  not  critically  :  the  Greek  Testament,  he 
went  through  nearly  fifty  times  by  the  simple  expedient 
of  reading  one  chapter  every  day.  General  science  and 
literature,  history,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  he  investigalied 
with  acuteness  in  the  ablest  writers^  English,  French, 
Dutch,  and  Germany  and  his  works  show  that  he  particu* 
larly  excelled  in  a  knowledge  of  controvemal  divinity, 
and  of  those  arguments,  pro  and  con,  which  were  con- 
nected with  his  opinions^  as  a  baptist.  After  exercising 
his  ministry  in  Prescot- street  for  nearly  thirty-seven  years, 
he  died  Monday,  Jan,  27,  1806,  and  his  memory  was  ho* 
noured  by  a  tablet  and  inscription  in  his  meeting-house, 
recording  his  virtues  and  the  high  respect  his  congrega* 
tion  entertained  for  him.  Besides  the  work  already  men* 
tioned,  he  published,  1. '^  The  Death  of  Legal  Hope,  the 
Life  of  Evangelical  Obedience,''  1770,  12mo.  2.  "-The 
Deity  of  Jesus  Christ  essential  to  the  Christian  Religion,*' 
a  translation  from  Abbadie,  and  occasioned  by  the  sub* 
scription  controversy,  1770.  3.  "  An  Apology  for  the  Bap- 
tists— in  refusing  communion  at  the  Lord's  Table  to  Pse- 
dobaptists,''  1778.  4.  '^  Psedobaptism  examined,  on  the 
principles,  concessions,  and  reasonings  of  the  most  learned 
Pasdobaptists,''  1784,  and  enlarged  1787,  2  vols,  a  work 
which  his  sect  consider  as  unanswerable.  He  published 
also  some  lesser  tracts  and  occasional  sermons^^ 

1  £May  on  his  Life  and  Writings,  by  William  Jones^  1808,  Bvo, 


BOOTH.  81 

•    Booth  (BARraN),  a  celebrated  tragic  actor,  was  bora 
in  the  county  palatine  of  Lancaster,  1681:     At  the  age  of 
nine  jears  he  was  put  to  Westminster  school,  under  the 
tuition  of  the  famous  Dn  Busby,  where  he  soon  discovered 
an  excellent  genius  and  capacity.     He  had  a  peculiar  turn 
for  Latin  poetry,  and  had  fixed  many  of  th^  finest  passages 
of  the  antients  so  firmly  in  his  memory,  that  he  could 
repeat  them  with  such  propriety  of  emphasis,  and  grace-> 
fulness  of  action,  as  to  charm  every  body  who  heard  him. 
Thence  it  was^  that  when^  according  to  custom^  a  Latin 
play  was  to  be  acted,  one  of  the  first  parts  was  given  to 
young  Booth ;  who  performed  it  in  such  a  mahner  as  gained 
him  universal  applause^  and  particular  respect  from  the 
doctor;     This  first  gave  him  an  inclination  for  the  stage. 
His  father  intended  him  for  the  church :  but  when  Barton 
reached  the  age  of  seven teeii,  and  was  about  to  be  sent  to 
the  university,  he#tole  away  from  school,  and  went  over 
to  Ireland  in  1698,  with  Mr.  Ashbury,.  master  of  the  com-^- 
pany.     Here   he  was   soon  distinguished  greatly  by  his 
theatrical  abilities,    especially  in  tragedy^  for  which   he 
seemed  to  be  formed  by  nature ;  for  he  had  a  grave  coun- 
tenance and  a  good  person^  with  a  fine  voice  and  a  manly 
action.     When  he  had  been  three  seasons  in  Dublin,  in 
which  time  he  had  acquired  a  great  reputation^  he  resolved 
to  return  to  England;  which  )ie  accordingly  did  in  1701^ 
and  was  recommended  to  Mr.  Betterton^  who  behaved  to 
him  with  great  civility,,  and  took  him  into  bis  company. 
The  first  character  in  which  he  appeared  on   the  Eng-* 
hsh  stage,  was  that  of  Maximus,  in  the  tragedy  of  Va- 
lentinian ;  and  it  was  scarce  possible  for  a  young  actor  to 
meet  with  a  better  reception.     The  Ambitious  Stepmother 
coming  on  soon  after,  he  performed  the  part  of  Artaban, 
which  added  considerably  to  the  reputation   he  had  ac- 
quired, and  made  him  esteemed  one  of  the  first  actors. 
Nor  was  his  fame  less   in  all  the  succeeding  characters 
which  he  attempted ;  but  he  shone  with  greatest  lustre  in 
the  tragedy  of  Cato-,  which  was  brought  on  the  stage  in 
1712.     <' Although  Cato  (says  Mr.  Gibber)  seems  plainly 
written  upon  what  are  called  whig  principles,  yet  the 
tortes  at  that  time  had  sense  enough  ^ot  to  take  it  as  the 
least  reflection  on  their  administration;  but^  on  the  con- 
trary, seemed  to  brandish,  and  vaunt  their  approbation  of  - 
every  sentiment  in  favour  of  liberty,  which,  by  a  public 
act  of  their  ^  generosity^  was  carried  so  high,  tl^at  one  day 
Vql.  VL  Q 


S2         ^  BOOTH. 

while  the  play  was  acting,  they  collected   50  guineas  in 
the  boxes,  and  made  a  present  of  them  to  Booth,  with  this 
compliment — For  his  honest  opposition  to  a  perpetual  dic- 
tator, and  his  dying  so  bravely  in  the  cause  of  hberty.'* 
The  reputation  to  which  Booth  was  now  arrived  seemed  to 
entitle  him  to  a  share  in  the  management  of  the  theatre ; 
but  this  perhaps  his  merit  would  never  have  procured,  had 
it  not  been  through  the  favour  of  lord  Bolipgbroke,  who, 
in  1713,  recalling  all  former  licences,  procured  a  new  one, 
in    which  Booth's  name  was   added  to  those  of  Cibber, 
Wilks,  and  Dogget.     Dogget,  however,  was  so  much  of- 
fended at  this,  that  he  threw  up  his  share,  and  would  not 
accept  of  any  consideration  for  it ;  but  Cibber  tells  us,  he 
only  made  this  a  pretence,  and  that  the  true  reason  of  his 
quitting  was  his  dislike  to  Wilks,  whose  humour  was  be- 
come insupportable  to  him.     When  Booth  came  to  a  share 
in  the  management  of  the  house,  he  wA  in  the  thirty-third 
year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  highest  reputation  as  an  actor ; 
nor  did  his  fame  as  a  player  sink  by  degrees,  as  sometimes 
has  happened  to  those  who  have  been  most  applauded,  but 
increased  every  day  more  and  more.     The  health  of  Booth, 
however,  beginning  to  decline,  he  could  not  act  so  often 
as  usual ;  and  hence  became  more  evident  the  pubUc  fa-^ 
Tour  towards  him,  by  the  crowded  audiences  his  appear- 
ance drew,  when  the  intervals  of  his  distemper  permitted 
him  to  tread  the;  stage:  but  his  constitution  broke  now 
very  fest,  and  he  was  attacked  with  a  complication  of  dis<« 
tempers,  which  carried  him  off,  May  10,  1733. 

His  character  as  an  actor  has  been  celebrated  by  some 
of  the  best  judges.  Mr.  Aaron  Hill,  a  gentleman,  who  by 
the  share  he  had  in  the  management  of  the  play-house, 
could  not  but  have  suflEicient  opportunities  of  becoming 
well  acquainted  with  his  merit,  has  given  us  a  very  high 
character  of  him.  ^*  Two  advantages  (says  this  gentleman), 
distinguished  him  in  the  strongest  light  from  the  rest  of  his 
fraternity  ;  he  had  learning  to  understand  perfectly  wha(« 
ever  it  was  his  part  to  speak,  and  judgment  to  know  how 
far  it  agreed  or  disagreed  with  his  character.  Hence  arose 
a  peculiar  grace,  which  was  visible  to  every  spectator, 
though  few  were  at  the  puns  of  examining  into  the  cause 
of  their  pleasure.  He  could  soften,  and  slide  over  with  a 
kind  of  elegant  negligence,  the  improprieties  in  a  part  he 
acted ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  he  would  dwell  with  energy 
upon  the  beauties,  as  if  he  exerted  a  latent  spirit^  whichi 


fi  O  O  T^  m  8S 

had  been  kept  back  for  such  an  occasion,  that  he  might 
alarm,  awaken,  and  transport  in  those  places  only  where 
the  dignity  of  his  own  good  sense  could  be  supported  by 
that  of  his  author*    A  little  reHectiori  upon  this  remarkable 
quality  will  teach  u8  to  account  for  that  manifest  languor, 
which   has  sometimes   been   observed  in   his  action,  and 
which   was  generally,  though  I  think  falsely,  imputed,  to 
the  natural  indolence  of  his  temper.     For  the  same  reason, 
though  in  the  customary  rounds  of  his  business  he  would 
condescend  to  some  parts  in  comedy,  he  seldom  appeared 
in  any   of  them   with   much  advantage  to  his  character. 
The  passions  which  he  found  in  comedy  were  not  strong 
enough  to  excite  his  fire,  and  what  seemed  want  of  quali- 
fication, was  only  absence  of  impression.     He  had  a  talent 
at  discovering  thfe  passions,  where  'they  lay  hid  in  some 
celcibrated  parts,  b^the  injudicious  practice  of  other  actors^ 
which  when  he  hln  discovei^ed,  he  soon  grew  able  to  ex* 
press  :  and  his  secret  for  attaining  this  great  lesson  of  the 
theatre  was  an  adaption  of  his  look  to  his  voice,  by  which 
artful  imitation  of  nature,  the  variations  in  the  sound  of  his 
words  gave  propriety  to  every  change  in  his  countenance. 
So  that  it  was  Mr.  Booth's  peculiar  felicity  to  be  heard  an4 
seen  the  same-^whether  as  the  pleased,  the  grieved,  the 
pitying,  the  reproachful,  or  the  angry.  One  would  almost  be 
tempted  to  borrow  the  aid  of  a  very  bold  figure,  and,  to  ex- 
press this  excellence  the  more  significantly,  beg  permission 
to  affirm,  that  the  blind  might  have  seen  him  ifi  his  voice, 
and  the  deaf  have  heard  him  in  his  visage.     His  gesture^ 
or^  as  it  is  commonly  called,  his  action,  was  but  the  result 
and  necessary  consequence  of  his  dominion  over  his  voice 
and  countenance;    for  having,  by  a  concurrence  of  twa 
such  causes,  impressed  his  imagination  with  such  a  stamp 
and   spirit  of  passion,  he  ever  obeyed  the  impulse  by  a 
kind  of  natural  dependency,  and  relaxed  or  braced  sue-* 
cessively  into  all  that  fine  expressiveness,  with  which  he 
painted  -What  he  spoke  without  restraint  or  affectation.'' 

Mr.  Cibber  has  also  taken  particular  notice  of  Booth, 
nor  has  he  omitted  either  his  excellencies  or  defects :  this 
Writer,  speaking  of  Wilks  and  him^  says,  **  they  were  ac- 
tors so  opposite  in  their  manner,  that  if  either  of  them 
could  have  borrowed  a  little  of  the  other's  fault,  they 
would  both  have  been  improved  by  it.  If  Wilks  had  some- 
times too  great  a  vivacity,  Booth  as  often  contented  him- 
^If  t?ith  too  grave  a  dignity.     The  latter  seemed  too 

G  2 


84  BOOTH. 

much  to  heave  up  his  words,  as  the  other  to  dart  them  ta 
the   ear  with  too  quick  and  sharp  a  vehemence.     Thu^ 
Wiiks  would  too  frequently  break  into  the  time  and  mea- 
sure of  the  harmony  by  too  many  spirited  accents  in  one 
line  ;  and  Booth,  by  too  solemn  a  regard  to  harmony,  would 
as  often  lose  the  necessary  spirit  of  it :  so  that  (as  I  have 
observed)    could  we   have  sometimes  raised  the  one  and 
sunk  the  other,    they  had  both   been   nearer  the   mark. 
Yet  this  could  not  be  always  objected   to  them  ;  they  had 
their  intervals  of  unexceptionable  excellence,  that  more 
than  balanced  their  errors.     The  master-piece  of  Bootti 
was  Othello ;  then  he  was  most  in  character,  and  seemed 
not  more  to  sinimate  and  please  himself  in  it  than  his  spec- 
tators.    It  is  true  he  owed  his  last. and  highest  advance- 
ment to  his  acting  Cato  ;  but  it  was  the  novelty  and  critical 
appearance  of  that  character,  that  chiofly  swelled  the  tor- 
rent of  his  applause ;  for,  let  the  sentiments  of  a  declaim- 
.    ing  patriot  have  all  the  sublimity  of  poetry,  and  let  them 
be  delivered  with  all  the  utmost  grace  and  elocution,  yet 
this  is  but  one  light  wherein  the  excellence  of  an  actor 
can  shine ;  but  in  Othello  we  may  see  him  in  the  variety 
of  nature.     In  Othello,  therefore,  I  may  safely  aver,  that 
Booth  shewed  himself  thrice  the  actor  that  he  could  in 
Cato,  and  yet  his  merit  in  acting  Cato  need  not  be  di- 
minished by  this  comparison.     Wilks  often  regretted,  that 
in  tragedy  he  had  not  the  full  and  strong  voice  of  Booth, 
to  command  and  grace  his  periods  with.     But  Booth  used 
to   say,  that  if  his  ear  had  been  equal  to  it,  Wilks  had 
voice  enough  to  have  shewn  himself  a  much  better  trage- 
dian.    Now,  though  there  might  be  some  truth  in  this,  yet 
these  two  actors  were  of  so  mixed  a  merit,  that  even  in 
tragedy  the  superiority  was  not  always  on  the  same  side. 
In  sorrow,  tenderness,  or  resignation,  Wilks  plainly  had 
the  advantage,  and  seemed  more  pathetically  to  feel,  look, 
and  express  his  calamity.    But  in  the  more  turbulent  trails 
sports  of  the  heart.  Booth  again  bore  the  palm,  and  left 
all  competitors  behind  him.'* 

Besides  his  professional  merit.  Booth  was  a  man  of  let- 
ters, and  an  author  in  more  languages  than  one.  He  had 
a  taste  for  poetry,  which  discovered  itself  when  he  was 
very  young,  in  translations  from  several  Odes  of  Horace; 
and  in  his  riper  years,  he  wrote  several  songs  and  other 
original  poems,  which  were  very  far  from  injuring  his  re- 
putation.   He  was  also  the  author  of  a  mask  or  dramatic 


BOOTH.  85 

entertainment  called  "  D\do  and  ^neas/*  that  was  very 
well  received  upon  the  stage ;  but  his  best  performance 
was  a  Latin  inscription  to  the  memory  of  a  celebrated 
actor,  Mr.  William  Smith,  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his 
profession,  and  of  whom  Mr.  Booth  always  spoke  in  rap- 
tures. This  short  elogy  has  much  strength,  beauty,  and 
elegance.  In  his  private  life  he  had  many  virtues,  r  id 
few  of  the  failings  so  common  to  his  profession.  He  had 
no  envy  in  bis  composition,  but  readily  approved,  and  as 
readily  rewarded,  merit,  as  it  was  in  his  power.  He  was 
something  rough  in  his  manner,  and  a  little  hasty  in  his 
temper,  but  very  open  and  free  to  speak  his  sentiments, 
which  he  always  did  with  an  air  of  sincerity,  that  procured 
him  as  much  credit  with  people  at  first  sight,  as  he  had 
with  those  to  whom  he  had  been  long  known.  He  was 
kind  to  all  the  players  whose  circumstances  were  indifferent, 
and  took  care  not  to  make  them  uneasy,  either  in  point  of 
salary  or  of  usage.  He  was  no  great  speaker  in  company, 
but  when  he  did,  it  was  in  a  grave  lofty  way,  not  unlike 
his  pronunciation  on  the  stage.  He  had  a  great  venera- 
tion for  his  parents  while  they  were  living,  and  was  also 
very  useful  to  his  brother  and  sister  after  their  decease^ 
Booth  was  twice  married;  first  in  1704,  to  Miss  Frances 
Barkljam,  daughter  of  sir  William  Barkham,  of  Norfolk, 
hart,  who  died  in  1710,  without  issue;  and  secondly,  to 
Mrs.  Santlowe,  an  actress,  who  survived  him  forty  years, 
and  in  1772,  erected  a  monument  to  his  memory  in  West- 
fninster  abbey.  In  1737  she  married  Mr.  Goody er,  a 
gentleman  of  fortune  in  Essex. ' 

BOOTH  (George),  Lord  Delamer,  the  son  of  Wijliam 
Booth,  esq.  and  grandson  of  sir  George  Booth,  bart.  ren-!- 
dered  himself  remarkable  by  heading  an  insurrection  in 
Cheshire,  about  a  year  after  the  death  of  Oliver  CromwelU 
He  received  a  commission  from  king  Charles  II.  under  hisf 
signet  and  sign-manual,  bearing  da^e  July  22,  1659,  by 
which  he  was  constituted  commander  in  chief  of  all  forces 
to  be  raised  for  l^is  ipajesty's  service  in  Cheshire,  Lan^ 
cashire,^  and  North  AVales.  A  duplicate  of  this  was  dated 
at  Brussels,  Aug.  9,  the  same  year,  but  .sir  George  did 
not.  opeiijy  profess  to  act  by  the  king's  authority,  or  with 
a  view  tp  his  restoration,  but  only  in  opposition  to  the 

'  ^  fiiog.  5rit. — ^Biog.  Dram. — Cibber»8  Lives. — Life  by  Theophilus  Cibber, 
•1*753,  Svo.^Viotor'B  Works,  vol  L  p.  79,  96,  316.-i-Bowle8*8  edit,  of  Pope'g 
IfTorks^-rr^ent,  Ma^.  vol.  VII.  y,  252,  • 


86  BOOTH. 

tyranny  of  the  parliament.  He  assembled  about  four  thouv 
sand  men,  took  possession  of  Chester,  and  was  joined  by 
the  earl  of  Derby,  sir  Thomas  Middleton,  and  major  Brook, 
But  the  parliamentary  forces  pursued  sir  George  and  h\% 
adherents  so  closely,  that  they  could  not  avoid  coming  to 
an  action ;  and,  after  a  sharp  cpntest,  on  the  1 9th  of  Aur 
gust,  1659,  Lambert  totally  routed  sir  George  Booth** 
troops,  pursiied  them  a*  considerable  way,  and  killed  and 
took  many  of  them.  Ludlow  informs  us,  that  "  Sir  George 
Booth,  after  his  defeat,  put  himself  into  a  woman^s  habit, 
and  with  two  servants  hoped  to  escape  to  London,  riding 
behind  one  of  them.  The  single  horseman  going  before, 
went  to  an  inn  on  the  road ;  and,  as  he  had  been  ordered, 
bespoke  a  supper  for  his  mistress,  who,  he  said,  was 
coming  afterK  The  pretended  mistress  being  arrived, 
either  by  alighting  from  the  horse,  or  some  other  action, 
raised  a  suspicion  in  %he  master  of  the  house,  that  there 
was  som^  mystery  under  that  dress.  And  thereupon  rer 
solving  to  make  a  full  inquiry  into  the  matter,  he  got  tOr 
gether  some  of  his  neighbours  to  assist  him,  and  with  thei^t 
entered  the  rooip  where  th6  pretended  lady  was.  But  sir 
George  Booth  suspecting  their  intentions,  and  being  un-» 
willing  to  put  them  to  the  trouble  of  a  farther  search,  dis- 
covered himserf.  Whereupon  they  took  him  into  their 
custody,  "and  sent  him  up  to  London,  where  the  parlia-' 
ment  committed  him  prisoner  to  the  Tower."  Sir  George 
made  applications  to  many  of  the  parliament  and  council, 
by  his  friends,  for  favour;  was  examined  by  Has^lrig  and 
Vane,  who  referred  his  examination  to  the  council  of  state; 
and  applications  were  made  from  the  lord  Say,  and  others, 
to  save  his  life. 

He  was  afterwards  set  at  liberty,  upon  giving  bail ;  and 
being  member  of  parliament  for  Chester,  he  was  the  first 
of  the  twelve  members  sent  by  the  house  of  commons,  in 
May  1660,  to  carry  to  king  Charles  IL  the  answer  of  that 
house  to  his  majesty's  letter,  as  appears  by  tde  journals  of 
the  house  of  commons,  May  7,  1660.  And  on  the  I3th  of 
July  following,  the  house  of  commons  ordered,  that  the 
sum  of  ten  thousand  pounds  should  be  conferred  on  him, 
as  a  mark  of  respect  for  his  eminent  services,  and  great 
suflFerings  for  the  public.  In  this  resolution  the  lords  after- 
wards concurred.  '  It  appears,  that  the  first  motion  was  ^r 
twenty  thousand  pounds,  which  the  house  of  commont 
was  about  to  agree  tb,  had  not  sir  George  Booth  himself. 


BOOTH.  ?7 

in  hl^  place,  requested  of  the  house,  that  it  might  be  no 
more  than  ten ;  declaring,  that  what  he  had  done  was 
purely  with  intention  of  serving  his  king^nd  country,  as 
became  him  in  duty  to  do,  without  view  of  any  reward. 
After  the  restoration,  his  services  were  also  considered  as 
so  meritorious,  that  the  king  gave  him  liberty  to  propose 
six  gentlemen  to  receive  the  honour  of  knighthood,  and 
two  others  to  have  the  dignity  of  baronet  conferred  on 
them.  He  was  also  himself  created  baron  Delamer  of  Dun* 
bam-Massey  ;  and  on  the  30th  of  July,  16'60,  he  was  ap- 
pointed custos  rotulorum  for  the  county  of  Cheshire,  but 
on  the  30th  of  May,  1673,  he  resigned  this  office  to 
Henry,  his  son  and  heir.  "  After  this,"  says  Collins,  "  he 
not  being  studious  to  please  the  court  in  those  measures 
which  were  taken  in  some  parts  of  that  reigp,  both  he  and 
his  family  were  soon  afterwards  disregarded  by  the  king, 
and  ill  used  by  his  successor  king  James  the  Second."  His 
lordship  died  at  Dunham- Massey,  in  the  63d  year  of  his 
age,  on  the  8th  of  August,  1684,  and  was  buried  in  a  very 
splendid  manner  at  Bowdon,  in  the  burial-vault  of  the 
family.  He  was  twice  married  :  his  first  wife  was  the  lady 
Catherine  Clinton,  daughter  and  co-heir  to  Theophilus 
earl  of  Lincoln,  who  died  in  child-bed  in  1643,  by  whom 
he  had  issue  one  daughter,  Vere,  who  died  unmarried  at 
Canonbury-house,  in  1717,  in  th^  seventy-fourth  year  of 
her  age,  and  was  buried  in  Islington  church.  His  second 
wife  was  the  lady  Elizabeth  Grey,  eldest  daughter  of 
Henry  earl  of  Stamford,  by  whom  he  had  issue  seven  sons 
Itnd  five  daughters.  His  eldest  son,  William,  died  youngs 
and  he  was  succeeded  in  his  honours  and  estate  by  his  se- 
cond son,  Henry,  who  is  the  subject  of  the  following 
article.  * 

300TH  (Henry),  earl  of  Warrington,  and  baron  Dcr 
lamer  of  Dunham  Massey,  an  upright  senator  and  distin- 
guished  patriot,  was  born  on  the  l3th  of  January,  1651« 
He  was  the  second  son  of  the  preceding  George  lord  De- 
lamer, by  the  lady  Elizabeth  Grey.  In  the  life-time  of 
his  father,  he  was  custos  rotulorum  for  the  county  palatine 
of  Chester,  and  also  knight  of  the  shire  for  that  county,  in 
several  psirliaments  during  the  feign  of  king  Charles  the 
Second.  He  very  early  rendered  himself  conspicuous  by 
his  zeal  for  the  protestant  religion,  and  the  liberties  of  his 

>  Biog.  BriU 


8S  BOOT  H. 

country.  When  the  bill  for  eKcluding  the  duke  of  York 
from  the  throne  was  brought  into  parliament^  Mr.  Booth, 
was  very  active  in  the  promotion  of  it,  and  also  made  a 
spirited  speech  in  support  of  the  necessity  of  frequent  par-* 
liaments,  and  against  governing  by  favourites  ;  and  he  op^ 
posed,  with  a  becoming  spirit,  the  unjust  and  arbitrary 
power  assumed  by  the  privy  council,  of  imprisoning  men 
contrary  to  law. 

As  he  was  solicitous  for  frequent  parliaments,  so  he  was 
also  anxious  that  they  should  be  preserved  incorrupt.  >  He 
was,  therefore,  desirous  of  procuring  an  act  for  the  punish* 
ment  of  those  who  had  received  bribes  from  the  court,  as 
members  of  that  parliament  which  was  styled  the  pension* 
parliament.  He  proposed,  that  a,  bill  should  be  brought 
in,  by  which  these  prostituted  senators  should  be  rendered 
incapable  of  serving  in  parliament  for  the  future,  or  of 
enjoying  any  office,  civil  or  military ;  and  that  they  shouU 
be  obliged,  as  far  as  they  were  able,  to  refund  all  the  money 
that  they  had  received  for  secret  services  to  the  crown. 

He  made  likewise  a  speech  in  parliament  against  the 
corruption  of  the  judges,  in  which  be  affirmed,  that,  in  a 
variety  of  cases,  they  bad  sold,  denied,  or  delayed  justice. 
**  Our  Judges,'*  said  he,  "  have  been  very  corrupt  and 
)ordly,  taking  bribes,  and  threatening  juries  and  evidenced; 
perverting  the  law  to  the  highest  degree,  turning  the  law 
upside  down,  that  arbitrary  power  may  come  in  upon  their 
shoulders."  He  therefore  recommended,  that  an  inquiry 
should  be  made  into  their  conduct,  and  that  such  of  them 
as  were  found  guilty  might  receive  the  punishment  they 
merited. 

Mr.  Booth  was  also  extremely  zealous  against  the  pa-^ 
pists ;  and  this  circumstance,  together  with  the  vigorous 
opposition  that  he  made  in  parliament  to  the  arbitrary 
measures  of  the  court,  occasioned  him  to  be  put  out  of  the 
commission  of  the  peace,  and  removed  from  the  office  of 
custos  rotulorum  of  the  county  of  Chester,  In  1684,  by 
the  death  of  his  father,  be  became  lord  Delamer ;  but 
about  this  time  he  was  committed  close  prisoner  to  the 
Tower  of  London.  The  pretence  probably,  was,  that  he 
was  suspected  of  being  coocerned  in  some  practices  against 
the  crown ;  but  we  have  met  with  no  particular  accoi^nt  of 
the  accusation  against  him  :  and  as  no  parliament  w%$,  tbeu 
sitting,  it  may  be  presumed,  that  less  attention  was  paid 
to  any  illegality  in  the  proceedings  respecting  himt«     He 


BOOTH.  8» 

0 

was,  however,  set  at  liberty,  after  a  fevr  months  imprison-^ 
meiit.     But  soon  after  the  accession  of  king  James  IL  he 
was  again  committed  prisoner  to  the  Tower.     After  being 
confined  for  some  time,  he  was  admitted  to  bail;  but  was, 
shortly  after,  a  third  time  committed  to  the  Tower.     This 
was  on  the  26th  of  July,  1685 ;  and  a  parliament  being 
assembled  in  the  November  following,  on  the  first  day  of 
the  session  he  stated  his  case  in  a  petition  to  the  house  of 
peers.     He  represented  to  their  lordships,  that  the  king, 
by  his  proclamation,  had  required  him  to  appear  before 
him  in  council  within  ten  days.     He  had  accordingly  sur<» 
rendered  himself  to  lord  Sunderland,  then  principal  secre- 
tary of  state  ;  and  being  brought  before  his  majesty,  then 
sitting  in  council,  he  was  neither  confronted  by  any  per- 
son who  accused  him,  nor  otherwise  charged  with  any 
kind  of  treason,  but  only  questioned  about  some  inferior 
matters,  and  which  were  of  such  a  nature,  that,  if  he  had 
i>een  really  guilty  of  them,  he  ought  by  law  to  have  been 
admitted  to  bail :    notwithstanding  which,   he  had  been 
committed  close  prisoner  to  the  Tower,  by  a  warrant  from 
the  secretary  of  state,  in  which  he  was  charged  with  high 
treason.    After  some  debate,  it  was  resolved,  that  the  lords 
.Mth  white  staves  should  wait  upon  his  majesty,  ^^  to  know 
.the  reason  why  the  lord  Delamer,  a  member  of  their  house^ 
was  absent  from  his  attendance  there."     The  day  follow- 
ing, the  earl  of  Rochester,  lord  treasurer,  reported  to  the 
•house,  ^^That  he,  with  the  other  lords,  having  waited  on 
.  his  majesty  with  their  message,  his  majesty  was  pleased  to 
answer.  That  ^he  lord  Delamer  stood  committed  for  high 
treason,    testified  upon  oath;   and  that  his  majesty  had 
already  given  directions,    that  he.  should  be  proceeded 
r  gainst  according  to  law." 
.  After  the  parliament  was  broken  up,  lord  Delamer  was 
)>rought  to  his  trial,  before  a  select  number  of  the  peers, 
pn  the  14th  of  January,  1685-6.     The  peers  who  tried 
him  were,  the  dukes  of  Norfolk,  Somerset,  Beaufort,  and 
jGrafton;  the  earls  of  Rochester,  Sunderland,  Mulgrave, 
Oxford,     Shrewsbury,    Uuutingdop,    Pembroke,    Bridg- 
water,    Peter|)orough,    Scarsdale,    Craven,     Feversham, 
JBerk($ley»  Npttingbam,  and  Plymouth  ;  the  viscounts  Fal- 
conberg  and  Newport ;  and  the  lords  Ferrers,  Cromwell, 
.  Maynard,  Dartmouth,   Godolphin,  and  Churchill.     Jef- 
feries,    then  lord  chaucellor,    was  appointed   lord   high 
Meward  on  the  occasion.    He  was  known  to  be  a  personal 


90  BOOTH. 

enemy  of  lord  Delamer,  who  bad  arraigned  in  parliament 
the  conduct  of  Jefferies  as  chief  justice  of  Chester.  Lord 
Delamer,  after  the  indictment  against  him  was  read,  ob- 
jected against  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court ;  alleging,  that 
be  ought  no(  to  be  tried  by  a  select  number  of  the  peers, 
but  by  the  whole  body  of  the  house  of  peers  in  parliament, 
because  the  parliament  was  then  only  under  a  prorogation, 
and  not  dissolved.  But  HU  plea  was  overruled.  In  Jef^ 
feries^s  charge  to  the  peers,  previous  to  tbe  opening  of  the 
evidence  against  lord  Delamer,  he  threw  Out  some  hints 
relative  to  me  share  his  lordship  had  in  promoting  the  bill 
p{  exclusion,  and  introduced  an  eulogium  on  the  conduct 
pf  king  James  the  Second,  Tbe  only  positive  evidence 
against  lord  Delamer  was  one  Thomas  Saxon,  a  man  of  a 
very  bad  character,  and  who  in  the  course  of  the  trial  was 
proved  to  be  perjured.  Jefferies  maintained,  that  there 
was  no  necessity,  in  point  of  law,  that  there  should  be  two 
positiye  witnesses  to  convict  a  man  of  treason ;  and  that 
where  there  was  only  one  positive  witness,  additional  cir- 
cumstances might  supply  tbe  place  of  a  second.  Lord 
pelamer  made  a  very  able  defence ;  and  by  tbe  lords  who 
were  appointed  to  try  him  he  was  unanimously  acquitted. 

After  this  he  lived  for  some  time  in  a  retired  manner, 
^t  his  seat  at  Dunham-M assey  ;  but  matters  being  at  length 
ripe  for  the  revolution,  he  exerted  himself  in  the  promo- 
tion of  that  great  event.  Upon  the  prince  of  Grangers 
landing,  he  raised>  in  a  very  few  days,  a  great  force  in^ 
Cheshire  and  Lancashire,  with  which  he  marched  to  join 
that  prince.  On  his  first  appearance  in  arms,  besides  as- 
signing other  reasons  for  his  conduct,  he  is  said  to  have 
snade  this  declaration  :  ^M  am  of  opinion,'  that  when  the 
nation  is  delivered,  it  must  be  by  force,  or  miracle :  it 
would  be  a  great  presumption  to  expect  tbe  latter;  and, 
therefore,  our  deliverance  must  be  by  force  ;  and  I  hope 
this  is  tbs  time  for  it."  After  he  bad  joined  the  prince, 
be  was  sent  by  his  highness,  together  with  the  marquis  of 
Halifax,  and  the  earl  of  Shrewsbury,  on  the  17th  of  De- 
cember, 1688,  with  a  message  to  king  James,  intimating 
to  him,  that  he  must  remove  from  Whitehall.  Lord  Dela« 
mer,  though  little  attached  to  that  prince  in  his  prosperity^ 
was  too  generous  to  insult  him  in  his  distress ;  and  ^ere^- 
fore,  on  this  occasion,  treated  him  with  respect.  And 
James  wais  so  sensible  of  this  instance  of  bis  lordship^s  civi- 
lity to  him,  that,  after  his  retirement  into  France,  be  said, 


BO  O  T  H-  9i- 

that  **  the  lord  Pelamer,  whom  be  had  used  ill,  bad  then' 
treated  him  with  much  more  regard  than  the  other  two 
lords,  to  whom  he  had  been  ki^ndi  and  from  whom  he 
might  better  have  expected  it.** 

Lord  Deiamer,  however,  had  no  inclination  that  an  ac- 
commodation should  take  place  between  king  James  and 
the  nation.  For  in  a  debate  in  the  house  of  peers,  the 
31st  of  January,  1688-9,  relative  to  declaring  the  thronef 
vacant,  lord  Delanier  said,  that  ^^  it  was  Ipng  since  he 
thought  himself  absolved  from  his  allegiance  to  king  James; 
that  he  owed  him  none,  and  never  would  pay  him  any; 
and,  if  king  James  came  again,  he  was  resolved  to  fight 
against  him,  and  would  die  single  with  his  sword  in  his 
band,  rather  than  pay  him  any  obedience.**  It  is  inti- 
mated by  sir  John  Dalrymple,  that  lord  Delamer  was  not 
sufficiently  ei^peditious  in'  joining  the  prince  of  Orange 
when  be  first  landed  in  England ;  and  that  gentleman 
affirms,  that  this  was  never  forgiven  by  king  William  :  but' 
this^is  an  assertion  unsupported  by  any  proper  evidence; 
It  is  certain,  that  his  services  in  the  promotion  of  the  revo- 
lution were  thought  so  meritorious  at  that  period,  that  on- 
the  13th  of  February,  1688-9.  he  was  sworn  a  privy  coun- 
sellor; on  the  9th  of  April  following,  he  was  appointed 
chancellor  and  under  treasurer  of  the  exchequer;  en  the 
12th  of  the  same  montb>  made  lor4*lieutenant  of  the  city 
and  county  of  Chester;  and  on  the  19th  of  July  made 
custos  rotulorum  of  the  same  county.  These  last  offices^ 
together  with  that  of  privy  counsellor,  he  enjoyed  for  life  : 
but  he  continued  in  the  others  only  for  about  a  year.  The 
reason  appears  to  have  been,  that  lord  Delamer  seems  tp 
have  wished  for  more  retrenchments  of  the  regal  preroga- 
tive, than  were  made  at  the  revolution.  That  he  was  de- 
sirous of  some  new  limitations  of  the  prerogative,  is  evi- 
dent from  a  protest  signed  by  him,  relative  to  a  clause 
proposed  to  be  added  to  the  bill  of  rights.  He  also  signed ' 
a  protest  respecting  an  amendment  to  the  bill  for  recog- 
nizing king  William  and  queen  Mary. 

Though  lord  Delamer  was  removed  from  the  administra- 
tion, it  was  thought  necessary  to  confer  on  hini  some  mark 
of  royal  favour.  Accordingly,  by  letters-patent,  bearing 
date  at  Westminster,  April  17,  1690,  he  was  created  ean 
of  Warrington,  in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  to  continue  to 
him  and  the  heirs-male  of  his  body.  *  A  peniiion  likewise  of 
two  thousand  pounds  per  annum  was  granted  to  himi  for 


92  BOOTH. 

the  better  support  of  that  dignity.  And  it  was  said,  in  the 
preamble  of  the  patent  for  bis  earldom,  that  it'  was  con- 
ferred on  him,  *^  for  his  great  services  in  raising  and  bring- 
ing great  forces  to  his  majesty,  to  rescue  his  country  and 
religion  from  tyranny  and  popery."  On  the  3d  of  January, 
1692*3,  the  earl  of  Warrington  signed  a  protest  against 
the  rejection  of  the  bill  for  incapacitating  persons  in  office 
under  the  crown,  either  civil  or  military,  from  sitting  in' 
the  house  of  commons.  Two  other  protests  were  also 
signed  by  him  on  different  occasions.  But  this  patriotic 
peer  did  not  live  long  to  enjoy  his  new  dignity  ;  for  he 
died  at  London  on  the  2d  of  January,  1693-4,  having  not 
quite  completed  the  forty -second  year  of  his  age.  He  was 
interred  in  the  family-vault  in  Bowdon  church,  in  the 
county  oi  Chester,  on  the  14th  of  the  same  month.  Mr. 
Grander  says,  that  lord  Delamer  was  "a  man  of  a  gene- 
rous and  noble  nature,  which  disdained,  upon  any  terms, 
to  submit  to  servitude;  and  whose  passions  seemed  to 
centre  in  the  love  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.'*  In  every 
part  of  his  life,  indeed,  he  appears  to  have  been  actuated 
by  the  same  principles;  and  in  his  ^^  Advice  to  his  Chil- 
dren," printed  in  his  works,  he  says,  "There  never  yet 
was  any  good  man  who  had  not  an  ardent  zeal  for  his 
country.**  He  was  not  only  illustriously  distinguished  by 
his  public  spirit,  and  his  noble  ardour  in  defence  of  the 
liberties  of  his  country ;  but  in  his  private  life  he  appears 
to  have  been  a  man  of  strict  piety,  and  of  great  worth,  ha- 
nour,  and  humanity.  He  married  Mary,  sole  daughter 
and  heiress  to  sir  James  Langham,  of  Cottesbrooke,  in  the 
county  of  Northampton,  knight  and  baronet,  by  whom  be 
had  four  sons,  and  two  daughters.  His  first  son  died  an 
infant,  and  his  second  son,  George,  upon  the  death  of  his 
father,  became  earl  of  Warrington.  He  died  on  the  2d 
of  August,  1758,  and  leaving  no  heirs  male,  the  earldom 
became  extinct,  but  was  revived  in  his  daughter's  husband. 

The  works  of  Henry  earl  of  Warrington,  the  subject  of 
this  article,  were  published  in  1694,  in  one  volume  8v6. 
They  consist  chiefly  of  speeches  made  by  him  in  parlia- 
ment, prayers  used  by  his  lordship  in  his  family,  some 
short  political  tracts,  and  the  case  of  William  earl  of  De- 
vonshire. He  published  also,  ^^  The  late  lord  R^ssePs 
case,  with  observations  upon  it,'*  1689,  fol. 

The  son  of  the  preceding,  who,  we  have  just  mentioned, 
died  in  1758,  has  obtained  a  place  among  the  royal  and 


BOOT  tt:  9$ 

noble  authors/'for  faavirtg  published,  but  without  bis  name, 
"  Considerations  upon  the  institution  of  Marriage,  with 
some  thoughts  concerning  the  force  and  obligation  of  the 
marriage  contract;  wherein  is  consiidered,  how  £ar  divorces 
may  or  ought  to  be  allowed.  By  a  gentleman.  Humbly 
submitted  to  the  judgment  of  the^ impartial,"  Lond.  print- 
ed for  John  Whiston,  1739.  It  is  an  argument  for  di* 
vorte  on  disagreement  of  temper,  which  was  the  aim  of 
Milton  in  his  **  Tetrachordon,"  and  would,  if  we  may  con- 
jecture from  the  effects  of  the  experiment  in  a  neighbour- 
ing nation,  create  more  dissoluteness  and  misery  than  it 
was  intended  to  remove.  He  also  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
writer  of  the  "  Present  state  of  the  Republic  of  Letters"  in 
August  1734,  vindicating  his  father  from  some  reflections 
cast  on  him  in  Burnett's  **  History  of  his  own  times." 
His  only  daughter  married  Henry  earl  of  Stamford,  in 
whose  son,  the  title  of  Earl  of  Warrington  was  revived  in 
1796.* 

BOQUINE   (Peter),  9r   BOQUINUS,  a  French  di- 
vine, and  one  of  the  contributors  to  the  reformation,  was 
born  in  Aquitaihe,  and  educated  in  a  monastery  at  Bourges, 
of  which  be  became  prior,  and  in  high  estimation  with  his 
brethren.     Having,  however,  perused  some  of  the  writings 
of  Luther,  Bucer,  &c.  he  imbibed  their  sentiments,  and 
went  to  Wittemberg,  where  he  became  acquainted  with 
Luther  and  Melancthon,  and  at  Basil  he  attended  the  lec- 
tures  of  Myconius,  Carlostadt,  v  and  Sebastian   Muncer. 
Melancthon  aftervpards  recommended  him  as  a  proper  per- 
son to  supply  Calvin's  place  at  Strasburgh,  who  had  gone 
back  to  Geneva ;  and  there  he  gave  lectures  on  the  epistle 
to    the  Galatians,  and   soon  after  had  for  his  coadjutor 
Peter  Martyr.     Boquine  being  at  some  distance  of  tim^e 
invited  by  his  brother,  who  was  a  doctor  in  divinity,  and 
not  an  enemy  to  the  reformation,  removed  to  Bourges,  iu 
hopes  that  the  French  churches  were  friendly  to  his  doc- 
trine, and  there  he  publicly  read  and  expounded  the  He- 
brew Bible.     About  this  time,  Francis,  king  of  France, 
bj6ing  dead,  the  queen  of  Navarre  came  to  Bourges,  when 
Boquine  presented  her  with  a  book  he  had  written  on  the 
necessity  and  use  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  she  re- 
ceived very  graciously,  allowed  him  a  yearly  stipend  out 

1  Biojf.  Brit.— Park's  edit,  of  Walpok's  Royal  and  Noble  Authors;  vol.  IIU 
•ad  IV. 


»4  B  0  Q.  U  I  N  E* 

of  her  tresLsllry^  and  appointed  him  to  preadb  a  public  I^ci^ 
tiire  in  the  great  church  of  Bourges^  with  the  consent  of 
the  archbishop.  He  remained  in  like  favour  with  her  sue- 
cessor,  king  Henry's  sister;  but  the  enemies  of  the  re- 
formation threatening  his  life>  he  was  obliged  to  desistt 
irom  his  labours,  and  went  back  to  Strasburgh,  where  he 
was  appointed  pastor  to  the. French  churcbi  This  office^ 
however,  he  filled  only  about  four  months^  and  in  1557 
went  into  Heidelberg,  at  the  invltattion  of  Otho  Henry^ 
prince  elector  Palatine,  who  was  carrying  on  the  reforma- 
tion in  his  churches.  Here  he  was  appointed  professor  of 
divinity,  and  continued  in  this  office  about  twenty  years, 
under  Otho  and  Frederic  HL  After  the  death  of  the  lat- 
ter in  1576,  the  popish  party  again  prevailing,  drove  him 
and  the  rest  of  the  reformed  clergy  firom  the  place,  but 
almost  immediately  be  was  invited  to  Lausanne^  where  he 
remained  until  his  death  in  1582.  He  left  various  works^ 
the  dates  of  which  his  biographers  have  not  given,  except 
the  following  *f  Oratie  in  'obitum  Frederici  IIL  Comit* 
Palatini,"  Leyden,  1577,  4to;  but  their  titlesare,  I.  "  De- 
fensio  ad  calumnias  Doctoris  cujusdam  Avii  in  Evangelii 
professores.**  2.  "  Examen  libri  quern  Heshusius  in- 
scripsit  de  prsesentia  corporis  Christi  in  cceua  Domini.^ 
3.  "  Theses  in  coena  Domini."  4.  "  Exegesis  dtvinaft 
communicationis."  5.  "  Adsertio  veteris,  ac  veri  Chris* 
tianismi  adversus  novum  et  ficttim  Jesuitismum."  This 
appears  to  have  been  one  of  his  ablest  works,  and  was 
translated  into  English  under  the  title,  "  A  defence  of  the 
old  and  true  profession  of  Christianitie  against  the  new 
counterfeite  sect  of  Jesuites,  by  Peter  Boquine,  translated 
by  T.  G."  London,  1581,  8vo,  by  John  Wolf,  city  printer. 
6.  ^^  Notatio  prsecipuarum  causarum  diuturnitatis  contro* 
versiae  de  cosna  Domini,"  &c.  * 

BORBONIUS.     See  BOUBJBON. 

BORCHT,  or  BORGT  (Henry  Vander,)  a  paititer, 
engraver,  and  antiquary,  was  born  at  Brussels  in  1583,  but 
when  in  his  third  year,  the  war  obliged  hi^  parents  to  re« 
move  into  Germany.  From  his  earliest  years  he  discovered 
a  taste  for  painting,\  which  induced  his  father  to  place  him 
und^r  Giles  Van  Valkenberg.  He  afterwards  studied  in 
Italy^  and  travelling  over  Germany,  settleci  first  at  Fi^anhen* 
dal^  and  in  1627  at  Francfort  on^he  Maine.     His  paint*' 

'  Melchior  Adam  d«  Yitis  Theolog. — ^Freberi  Theatrum» 


B  O  R  C  H  T,  9i 

ings,  principally  fruit  and  flowers,  were  much  admired,  but 
he  perhaps  had  more  reputation  as  an  antiquary,  in  which 
capacity,  the  eari  of  Arundel  sent  him  into  Italy  to  Mr. 
Petty,  who  was  J:ben  collecting  for  his  lordship,  and  re- 
tained him  in  his  service  as  long  as  he  lived.  After  the 
death  of  this  patron,  Vander  Borcht  was  employed  by  the 
prince  of  Wales  (afterwards  Charles  II.)  and  lived  in  esteem 
at  London  several  years,  till  he  returned  to  Antwerp,  where 
he  died  in  1660.  As  an  engraver  we  have  some  few  etch»- 
ings  by  him  ;*  among  the  rest  the- "  Virgin  and  Child,'*  a 
small  upright  print,  from  Parmigiano,  engraved  at  London 
in  1637;  a  **  Dead  Christ,  supported  by  Joseph  of  Arima* 
thea,''  from  the  same  master,  and  <^  Apollo  and  Cupid,"  a 
small  upright  oval  from  Perin  del  Vago^ 

BORDA  (John  Charles),  a  celebrated  French  mathe* 

matician  and  natural  philosopher,  was  born  at  Dax,  in  the 

department  of  the  Landes,  May  4,  1733.     His  mother  was 

Maria  Theresa  de  Lacroix,  and  his  father  John  Anthony 

Bord^,  whose  ancestors  had  acquired  considerable  dtstinc*- 

tion  in  the  French  army.     He  began  his  studies  in  the  coN 

lege  of  the  Bamabites  at  Dax,  where  he  gave  early  indica* 

tions  of  his  future  genius.     He  was  a  considerable  time  after 

put  under  the  charge  of  the  Jesuits  of  La  Fleche,  and  by 

bis  ardour  for  study  and  superior  talents,  frequently  carried 

off  the  prizes  .which  were  held  out  as  the  reward  of  youthful 

genius.     This  induced  the  Jesuits  to  endeavour  to  press 

him  into  their  order,  but  his  attachment  to  geometry  was 

too  powerful  to  be  weakened  by  their  persuasions.    He  en* 

€M>untered  afterwards  a  more  formidable  opposition  from  his 

father,  who  was  hostile  to  the  prosecution  of  what  he  called 

unprofitable  studies,  and  endeavoured  to  please  him  by 

proposing  to  enter  into  the  engineer  service  of  the  army^ 

where  the  objects  of  his  profession  would  necessarily  re«> 

quire  a  knowledge  of  geometry  and  physics.     His  father^ 

however,  having  eleven  children,  and  being  obliged  to  sup«< 

port  two  of  his  sons  who  were  already  in  the  army,  was  anx-> 

bus  that  Charles  should  look  forward  to  some  situation  in 

the  magistracy,  which  might  be  obtained  without  much  ex^* 

pence  and  trouble.     To  these  views  Borda  reluctantly  sub*'- 

mitted ;  but  after  having  thus  lost  some  of  the  most  precious 

years  of  his  youth,  a  Ariar,  who  was  a  particular  friend  of 

his  father,  obtained,  by  earnest  solicitation,  that  he  shouM 

*  £>eMampt,  rol.  I.— PUkrngton  And  Stmtt.— Oribrd*'s  Btof  raT«ri« 


96  B  O  R  D  A. 

be  allowed  to  devote  himself  to  his  fgiFOurite  ^iencfe;  sn^^ 
every  restraint  being  now  removed,  he  was  in  1753,  when 
only  twenty  years  of  age,  introduced  to  D'Alembert,  who 
advised  him  to  remain  in  the  capital,  and  look  forward  to  a 
situation  in  the  academy.  Borda  accordingly  entered  die 
light  horse,  and  continuing  his  mathematical  studies,  he  be* 
came  professor  to  his  comrades. 

In  1756,  he  laid  before  the  academy  a  memoir  on  the 
motion  of  projectiles,  which  was  pairticularly  mentioned  in 
the  history  of  its  proceedings ;  and  in  the  same  year  he  was 
appointed  an  associate  of  the  academy.  In  the  following 
year  he  was  called  into  active  service,  and  was  present  at 
the  battle  of  Hastembeck,  July  26,  1757,  as  aid-^de-camp 
to  M.  de  Maillebois.  He  willingly  returned,  however, 
from  a  species  of  duty  which  interrupted  the  progress  of 
his  studies ;  and,  upon  his  arrival  at  Paris,  he  became  a 
candidate  for  a  situation  in  the  engineer  service  :  and  such 
was  the  estimation  in  which  his  talents  were  held,  that  he 
was  received  without  examination,  and  immediately  em* 
ployed  as  an  inspector  of  the  dock-yards.  This  new  ap* 
pointment  was  highly  favourable  for  calling. into  action  the 
peculiar  talents  of  Borda.  It  inspired  him  with  a  fondness 
for  every  thing  that  related  to  the  naval  service :  and,  what 
seldom  happens  to  the  man  of  genius,  he  found  himself  ia 
a  situation  in  which  he  was  led  both  by  his  profession  and 
by  his  inclination  to  the  same  line  of  study. 

The  first  object  of  his  research  was  an  examination  of  the 
theories  of  the  resistance  of  fluids,  a  subject  intimately 
connected  with  the  advancement  and  perfection  of  naval 
architecture.     The  experiments  upon  this  subject  made  by 
the  academy  of  sciences,  were  by  no  means  fitted  to  de* 
termine  the  resistance  of  bodies  that  were  wholly  immersed 
in  the  fluid.     Borda,  however,  employed  a  method  which 
was  susceptible  of  great  accuracy,  and  had  also  the  ad  van* 
tage  of  ascertaining  accurately  the  velocity  of  the  motion. 
The  surfaces  upon  which  his  experiments  were  made  were 
of  various  forms,  and  the  experiments  were  made  both  in 
air  and  water.     The  results  of  these  inseresting  experi- 
ments are  given  at  length  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy 
for  1763  and  17^7.     The  apparatus,  however,  employed 
by  Borda,  was  not  of  his  own  invention.     A  machine  of  the 
same  kind  had  been  used  some  time  before  by  our  inge* 
nious  countryman,  Benjamin  Robins,  in  his  admirable  ex*. 
perimentson  the^ resistance  of  air.    Yet  we  are  indebted. 


B  O  R  D  A.  97 

to  Borda  for  many  ingenious,  experiments  and  obser- 
vations on  the  motion  of  fluids  through  different  orificea. 
He  prepared  a  theory  of  the  motion  of  fluids  diflerent  from 
that  which  had  been  given  by  Bernouilli  and  D'Alembert^ 
and  be  made  new  experiments  on  the  vena  cantracta. 

In  1767,  he  published  an  excellent  dissertation  in  the 
Memoirs  of  the  Academy,  entitled  ^^  Memoire  sur  les  Roues 
.Hydrauliques/'  shewing  that  an  undershot  wheel  produces 
a  maximum  efliect  when  its  velocity  is  one-half  that  of  the 
current,  though  in  practice  the  velocity  is  never  more  than 
three-eighths  that  of  the  current.  He 'proved^  after  De- 
parcieuzy  from  theory,  before  Smeaton  had  determined  it 
by  experiment,  that  the  effect  of  overshot  wheels  increases 
with  the  slowness  of  their  motion  :  that  they  are  capable  of 
raising,  through  the  height  of  the  fall,  a  quantity  of  water 
equal  to  that  by  which  they  are  driven ;  that  undershot  ver- 
tical wheels  produce  only  three-eighths  of  this  efiect ;  that 
horizontal  wheels  produce  about  one-half  of  this  efiect  with 
plain  float-boards,  and  a  little  more  than  one  half  with  curvi* 
lineal  float-boards.  This  memoir  was  followed  by  another, 
in  1768,  oh  the  construction  of  vrater-pumps.  About 
this  time  Borda's  attention  was  directed  to  isoperimetricai 
problems,  in  which  he  obtained  the  same  results  as  La- 
grange, though  by  a  diflerent  method.  His  last  work,  in 
the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy,  was  a  dissertation  on  the 
"  Theory  of  Projectiles." 

These  labours  induced  M.  Prasslin,  the  minister  of  the 
Sparine,  to  wish  for  the  aid  of  his  talents  in  the  French  navy, 
and  after  some  opposition  from  official  etiquette,  he  ap- 
.pointed  him  sub-lieutenant,  in  which  character  he  first  ap* 
peared  in  1768 ;  but  nothing  occurred  of  consequence  un« 
til  1771,  when  the  French  and  English  were  employed  in 
many  inve^ntions  for  the  discovery  of  the  longitude  at  sea, 
and  the  French  government  having  determined  to  try  the 
accuracy  of  some  improved  chronometers,  the  academy  of 
sciences  appointed  Borda  and  Pingre  to  sail  for  that  pur* 
pose  in  the  Flora  frigate.  The  result  of  their  voyage  was 
published  at  Paris  in  1778,  entitled,  ^'Voyage  fait  par 
ordre  du  Roy  en  1771  et  1772,  &c."  2  vols.  4to.  He 
was  afterwards  employed  to  determine  the  position  of  the 
Capaiy  Isles,  and  being  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant^ 
sailed  in  1776,  and  in  the  course  of  his  voyage,  performed 
its  ibimediate  object,  with  others.  Being  appointed  major* 
general  to  the  naval  armament  which  served  under  Count 
.  Vol.  VI.  H 


98  B  O  R  D  A. 

D'Estaign  in  America,  his  experience  led  him  to  disc^ijnreif 
many  defects  in  the  construction  of  vessels,  which  he  thought 
might  be  easily  remedied.  He  considered  the  want,  of 
uniformity  in  the  construction  of  ships,  which  were  to  act ' 
together,  as  a  great  defect,  because  9.  great  discordance 
arose  in  their  movements  and  in  the  execution  of  signals; 
Upon  his  return  to  France  he  communicated  this  idea  to 
government,  who  immediately  resolved  to  carry  it  into  ef- 
f(»ct,  and  his  profound  knowledge  and  patriotic  exertionii 
did  not  fall  to  be  acknowledged  not  only  by  France,  but  by 
the  best-informed  men  in  England.  The  reputation. which 
he  had  npw  acquired  enabled  him  to  be  further  serviceable 
to  his  country,  by  drawing  up  a  plan  for  the  schools  of  na- 
tal architecture^  of  which  he  may  justly  be  termed  the 
founder j  as  he  not  only  suggested  the  idea^  but  formed  the 
scheme  for  regulating  these  seminaries,  and  laid  down  die 
rules  for  the  instruction  of  the  pupils  admitted  into  them^ 

As  a  naval  officer,  however,  Borda  acquired  little  ikme,r 
and  being  captured  by  the.  English^  though  after  a  very 
brave  resistance,  he  determined  to  devote  the  remainder  of 
his  days  to  science  arid  philosophy.  During  hi*  voyage 
along  with  Pingre  in  1771,  Borda  found  h[y  experience 
that  Hadley's  quadrant  was  susceptible  of  great  tmpi'ove- 
ment.  The  celebrated  Tobias  M:tyer  had  already  endea* 
voured  to  remove  its  imperfections,  but  the  merit  of  this 
Borda's  biographer  has  transferred  to  him,  declaring  that 
Mayer's  idea  was  never  carried  into  effect,  which  is  com* 
pletely  false  :  one  of  Mayer's  circles  was  made  fgt  Admiral' 
Campbell  by  Bird ;  and  Mayer  had  himself  used  an  instru-* 
ment  for  measuring  terrestrial  angles  upon  the  repeating 
principle^  which  is  described  in  "Commentaries  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  <5ottingen"  for  1752.  Borda  having  ex^* 
uno^ined,  with  the  utmost  attention,  the  construction  pro- 
posed by  Mayer,  pointed  out  its  defects,  and  in  a  great 
measure  removed. them  by  a  circle  of  his  pwn  invention  in 
1777,  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  Circle  of  Borda,"  but 
atill  it  was  Hot  witbcHit  its  numerous  imperfections,  and  i% 
was  reserved  to  put*  ingenious  countryman  Troughton  to 
bring  to  perfection  one  of  the  happiest  inventions  that  was 
ever  made. 

,  To  Borda  J^rance  is  indebted  for  the  invention  of  the 
mensuration -rod,  with  which  the  new  station-lines  were 
lately  ascertained.  He  was  also  a  zealous  promoter  of  the 
reform  in  weights  and  measures;  and  in  order  to  assist  ia 
this^  he  published  ^^  Tables  ^f  Sines  in  the  decimal  sy 9* 


B  O  R  D  A;  99 

tem/^  at  bis  own  expence.  One  of  his  last  labours  was| 
tbe  accurate  determination  of  the  length  of  the  pendulum 
vibrating  seconds  at  Paris.  Such  were  the  acknowledged 
reputation  and  patriotism  of  Borda,  that  the  highest  ofBce« 
iuthe  state  were  not  deemed  too  great  for  merit  such  as 
fais  ^  and  we  accordingly  find  the  name  of  a  man  who  bad 
been  decorated  with  the  cross  of  merit  during  the  raor 
narcby,  entered  in  the  list  of  candidates  for  the  office  of 
Director  under  the  republic.  This  occurred  in  1797,  and 
on  tbe  20th  of  February  1799,  the  National  Institute  lost 
one  of  its  greatest  ornamenis  and  most  assiduous  sup- 
porters, in  consequence  of  his  death,  which  was  occasioned 
by  a  dropsy,  that  cut  him  off  Feb.  20,  17i)9,  in  the  ^4th 
year  of  fais  age.  ' 

At  tlie  interment  of  his  corpse,  nearly  the  whole  of  his 
colleagues  attended.-^Notwitbstandinrg  a  h^avy  rain,  up* 
wards  of  one  hundred  members  of  the  National  Institute 
walked  on  foot  to  Montmartre,  ^wo  a- breast,  with  a  black 
crape  round  their  arms,  and  with  the  eyes  of  nearly  all  suf- 
fused in  tears.  On  their  arrival  at  the  place  of  interment, 
Bougainville,  a  man  no  less  distinguished  in  arms  than  in 
letters,  spoke  an  oration  in  honour  of  the  deceased.^ 

BORDE,  or  BOORDE  (Andrew),  or  as  he  styles  him- 
9^  in  Latin,  Andreas  Perforatus,  was  a  very  singular 
character,  and  the  reputation  he  acquired  among  his  con- 
temporaries must  be  considered  in  a  great  measure  as  a 
proof  of  the  ignorance  and  credulity  of  the  times.  He  was 
born  at  Pevensey  in  Sussex  about  1500,  and  was  educated 
at  Oxford;  but  before  he  had  taken  a  degree,  entered 
among  the  Carthusians  in  or  near  London.  He  afterwards 
left  them,  and  studied  physic  at  Oxford ;  and  then  tra- 
velled over  most  parts  of  Europe  and  Africa.  On  his  re- 
turn be  settled  at  Winchester,  where  he  praotisg^d  physic 
with  considerable  reputation,  and  in  this  capacity  he  is  said 
to  have  served- Henry- VIII.  In  1541  and  1542  he  was  at 
Montpellier,  where  he  probably  took  the  degree  of  doctor, 
in  which  he  was  soon  after  incorporated  at  Oxford.  He 
lived  then  for  some  time  at  Pe^vensey,  and  afterwards  re- 
turned to  Winchester,  still  observing  all  the  austerities  of 
the  order  to  which  he  formerly  belonged ;  though  he  has 
beedi.  accused  of  man}^  iri;egularitie8.     It  is  oertain  that  hi« 

I  Principally  from  Brewster's  £ncyclopedia.-^ee  alsa  Lalande's  History  »iF 
AstioDoiDyi. 


100  B  O  R  D  E. 

-character  was  very  odd  and  whimsical,  as  appears  from  the 
books  he  wrote ;  yet  he  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  great  wk 
^and  teaming,  and  an  *' especial  physician.**  That  he  was  not 
of  consequence  eminent  enough  to  rank  with  the  first  of  his 
profession,  may  be  inferred  from  his  dying  insolvent  in  the 
-Fleet,  April  1549.  Bale  intimates  that  he  hastened  his  end 
by  poison*  on  the  discovery  of  his  Ireeping  a  brothel  for  his 
brother  bachelors.  His  works  are  very  various  in  their 
subjects',  one  of  the  most  considerable  is  intituled,  <^  A 
book  of  the  introduction  of  knowledge,"  black  letter,  im- 
printed by  William  Coplande,  without  date.  He  there  pro- 
fesses to  teach  all  langoages|  the  customs  and  fashions  of 
all  countries,  and  the  value  of  every  species  of  coin.  This 
is  a  motley  piece,  partly  in  verse  and  partly  in  prose  ;  and 
is  divided  into  thirty-nine  chapters,  before  each  of  which  is 
a  wooden  cut,  representing  a  man  in  the  habit  of  some  par* 
ticular  country.  His  well  known  satire  on  the  Englisbanan, 
who,  to  express  the  inconstancy  and  mutability  of  his 
fashions,  is  drawn  naked*with  a  cloth  and  a  pair  of  sheers  in 
his  hand,  is  borrowed  from  the  Venetians,  who  characterised 
the  French  in  that  manner.  Before  the  7th  chapter  is  the 
effigies  of  the  author,  under  a  canopy,  with  a  gown,  a  lau- 
rel on  his  head,  and  a  book  before  htm.  The  title  of  thb 
chapter  shews  how  the  author  dwelt  in  Scotland  and  other 
islands,  and  went  through  and  round  about  Christendom. 
An  edition  of  this  singular  work  was  printed  in  London  iii 
1 542.  His  "  Breviary  of  Health,"  which  is  a  very  trifling, 
coarse,  and  weak  performance,  ivas  published  in  1547,  and 
IS  supposed  by  Fuller  to  be  the  first  medical  piece  written 
in  English.  As  a  specimen  of  the  style,  take  what  follows^ 
•which  is  the  beginning  of  the  Prologue,  addressed  to  phy- 
sicians :  **  Egregious  doctors  arid  maisters  of  the  eximious 
and  arcane  science  of  physicke,  of  your  urbanity  exasperate 
hot  yourselves  against  me  for  making  this  little  volume.'' 
This  work,  with  a  second  part  called  the  **  Extravagartts,** 
was  reprinted  in  4to,  1 575.  He  was  also  author  of  the  fol- 
lowing; "  Compendyouse  Regimente,  or  Dietaiy  of 
"Healthe  made  in  Mounte  Pyllor,**  an  edition  of  whicn  was 
printed  several  years  after  his  death,  in  1 562.  A  famous 
jest  book  called  the  ^*Merrye  tales  of  the  madmen  of  Go* 
tham  ;'*  **  The  historye  of  the  miller  of  Abingdon  and  the 
Cambridge  scholars,'*  the  same  with  that  related  by 
Chaucer  in  his  Canterbury  Tales;  a  book  of  ^'  ProgQostics,^' 


B  O  R  D  E.  101 

and  another  of  Urines,  &c.     It  is  said  that  the  phrase 
**  Me;-ry  Andrew"  is  derived  from  him.  * 

BORDE  (John  Benjamin  de  la),  a  French  historical  and 
miscellaneous  writer  of  considerable  fame,  was  born  at  Pa* 
ris  in  1734,  of  an  opulent  family,  and  devoted  himself  in 
bis  youth  to  high  life  and  the  fine  arts.  From  being  first 
valet  de  chambre  to  Louis  XV.  he  became  his  favourite, 
and  on  (he  death  of  that  monarch,  he  obtained  the  place  of 
farmer-general,  the  duties  of  which  unpopular  office  he 
performed  with  great  assiduity,  employing  his  leisure  hours 
in  cultivating  music  and  general  literature.  He  became  one 
of  the  most  celebrated  composers  of  songs,  and  his  *^  Re- 
eueil  d'airs,''  4  vols.  8vo,  ornamented  with  fine  engravings^ 
is  in  high  esteem.  He  composed  also  the  music  of  the 
opera  of  "  Adela  de  Ponthieu,'*  which  was  peirformed  with 
considerable  success.  '  Happe;uing  to  read  in  De  Bure,  thrt 
there  had  been  only  thirty  copies  published  of  the  CoUec- 
, tion  of  antient  paintings  of  Rome,  coloured  after  Bartoli's 
designs,  he  made  inquiry  for  thcf  coppers,  had  theatre- 
paired,  and  published  a  second  edition  of  that  work.  His 
other  works  are :  I .  ^^  Essais  sur  la  Musique  ancienne  et  mo- 
derne,'*  1780,  4  vols.  4to,  a  vast  mass  of  useful  materials, 
hxit  many  part^  of  it  are  written  in  the  spirit  of  system  and 
partiality,  and  many  valuable  passages  of  considerable 
length  are  borrowed  from  Dr.  Burney  and  other  authors  of 
eminence,  without  any  acknowledgment.  The  best  part 
is  that  which  treats  of  the  Frefich  lyric  music  and  poetry. 
2.  ^'  £ssai  snr  I'bistoire  chronologique  de  plus  de  quatre- 
vingts  peuples  de  Tantiquit^,"  1788,  8vo.  3. '^Memoires 
historiques,  de  Coucy,"  2  vols.  8vo.  4.  **  Pieces  interes- 
saotes  pour  servir  4  Thistoire  des  regnes  de  Louis  XIII.  et 
de  Louis  XIV."  12mo,  5.  "  Lettres  sur  la  Suisse,"  1781, 
^  vols.  Bvo.  6^  ^^  Abregi  chronologique  des  principaux 
faits  arrives  depuis  Henoch  jusqu'a  Jesus  Christ,'*  1789, 8vo. 
'^.  ^'Eecueil  de  vers  dedies  a  Adelaide  par  le  plus  heureux 
des  epoux,''  16mo,  a  tribute  to  conjugal  happiness,  so  seU 
dom  celebrated  by  poets,  La  Borde  also  published  a  trans- 
lation x]f  Swinburne's  Travels ;  a  fine  edition  of  the  Histo* 
rical  ilomances  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries, 
printed  by  Didot,  in  1 1  vols,  12mo. ;  <<  Tableaux  topogra- 

1  AUi.  Ox.  vol.  I.— rHeanie's  Pre£ice  to  Benedictus  Abbas  Petrobur^nsit.— t 
Dodd's  Ch.  Hiat.  vol.  I.— WartoQ*8  Hist,  of  Poetry,  vol.  III.  p.  70— 78.— Gent. 
Mag.  voUXVIfU  aadXIX—^Rilson**  Blbl.  Poet«««-Cooper'$  M^seg  Library,  p. 
i6,-tPl|ilips'f  'Fheatnua  Poet,  A«sL 


102  iB  O  R  D  E. 

%  • 

/ 

.phiques  et  pittoresqlies  de  la  Suisse,**  with  letter-press  and 
beautiful  engravings  by ^  Robert :  and  lastly^  in  1792, 
♦*  L^Histoire  abreg^e  de  la  m^r  du  Sud,"  3  vols.  8vo,  con- 
taining an  analysis  of  all  the  voyages  to  that  sea  from  the 
time  of  Goneville,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  to  that  of  our 
countryman,  Capt,  Riou,  in  1789.  In  this  also  he  urges  the 
Spaniards  to  widen  the  passage  of  Nicaragua,  which  is  only 
three  leagues,  and  make  it  navigable,  and  a  communication 
between  the  North  and  South  Seas,  pointing  out  the  ad^ 
vantages  this  would  be  attended  with  in  voyages  from  £u^ 
rope  to  China,  .  During  the  Convention,  la  Borde  retired 
.to.  Rouen  where  he  hoped  to  be  overlooked,  but  the  spies 
of  the  reigning  tyrants  discovered  him,  and  conducted  him 
to  Paris,  where ;he  was  beheaded  July*  22,  179^.  His  wife 
was  the  authoress  of  some  "  Poems"  imiUted  from  the  En- 
glish, and  printed  by  Didot  in  1785,  l8mo.  * 
.  BORDENAVE  (TousiJAiNT,)  regius  professor  and  di^ 
rector  of  the  academy  of  surgery,  veteran  associate  of  the 
academy  of  sciences  of  Paris,  and  member  of  the  imperial 
academy  of  Florence,  was  born  at  Paris  April' 10,  1728. 
:Hi2>  father,  who  was  also  a  surgeon,  destined  him  for  the 
same  profession,  which  had  long  -heeh  followed  by  the 
branches  of  his  family,  but  began  with  giving  him  the  or*- 
dinary  course  of  a  learned  education  that  he  might  acquire 
the  languages  in  which  the  most,  celebrated  anatomists  of 
)i)rmer  ages  wrote,  and  sonae  of  those  principles. of  phi^ 
losophy*  which  are  the  foundation  of.  all  sciences  and  arts, 
.Young  Bordenave's  proficiency  fully  answered  bis  father's 
expectation V  sind  he  soon  filled  the  disitinguisbed  situations 
iilready  mi^ntioned,  and  contributed  noiany  valuable  papers 
to  the  Memoirs  of  the  academy  of  sui^ery,  on  extraordinary 
oases  which  occurred  in  his  practice :  the  I2reatmentt)f  gun- 
shot wounds,  and  anatomical  subjects.  He  also,  in  175t 
made  some  experiments  to  illustrate  Ualler's^c^ioion  ontt^ 
<li0erence  between  sensible  or  irritable  parts,  and  wrote  a 
>Tork  in  defence  of  that  celebrated  anatomist's  opinion  oa 
|be  formation  ot  the  bones,  against  that  of  DubamjeL  Ha 
also,  in  1768i  translated  Haller^s  Elements  of  Physiology 
for  the  use  of  bis  students,  but  he  had  previously,  m  18^56, 
pubiisbed  a  n€[w  work  on  the  same  subject,  admiredrfor 
precision  of  method.  Bordenave  had  long  wished  for  a 
place  in  the  academy  of  sciences,  and  in  1774  was*  elected 

'  Diet.  Hi8t.-:*-Barn<y's  Hist  of  Music,  vol.  IV.^^and  an  article  iivthe  Cfit« 

llev.  voL  L.  p.  378.  probably  by  the  same  pep. .  .  «■ 


B  O  R  D  E  N  A  V  E.  103 

a  veteran  as^ciate.  This  title,  it  sjeems,  indicates  that  the 
party  has  been  chosen  contrary  to  the  statutes,  and  that  thie 
academy  did  not  choose  him  of  their  o^rn  will ;  but  for  this  he 
was  not  to  blame,  as  such  an  election  was  totally  contrary  to  / 
his  .wish*  In  a, short  time,  however,  the  academicians  were 
reconciled,  and  Bordenave  enriched  their  memoirs  with 
some  important  papers.  Bordenave  also  became  echevin^ 
:or  sheriff,  of  Paris,  an  office  never  before  conferred  on  a 
i(urgeon,  but  which  he  filled  in  a  manner  highly  creditable, 
•and  directed  his  attention,  as  a  magistrate,  chiefly  to  the 
health  of  the  city.  On  the  birth  of  Louis  XVIL  be  was  ho- 
noured with  the  ribbon  of  the  order  of  St«  Michael,  in  cpn^ 
sideration  of  his  talents  and  services,  but  did  not  long  enjoy 
this  honour,  beine  seized  i#ith  *  a[n  apoplexy,  which  after 
<eight  days  proved  fatal,  March  12,  1782.  Besitles  the 
works  ali^ady  noticed,  he  published,  *<  Dissertations  sur 
Jes  Antiseptiques,*'  1769^  8vo;  and  '^Memoires  sur  le 
danger  ties  Caustiques  pour  la  cure  radicale  des  Hernies^^' 

:1774.> 

BORDEU  (Anthony,)  a  French  physician  of  consider* 
rable  eminence^  wasborn  at  Iseste,  in  Beam,  in  1693.  A& 
ter  being  initiated  in  the  study  of  medicine  by  his  father, 
he  went  to  Montpellier,  where  he  was  admitted  doctor  in 
thai:  faculty  in  1 7 1 9*  Invited,  in  1723,  to  Pau,  the  oapi*- 
jfcal  of  tiie  profvince,  he  acquired  so  much  reputation,  as  to 
•be  appointed  physician  to  the  military  hospital  at  Barege^ 
and  inspector  of  the  mineral  waters  there.  To  the  waters 
Jie  paid  great  attention,  and  in  1750,  he  published  a  small 
jbreatise,  shewing  the  effects,  he  bad  experienced  from  them 
in  a  variety  of  diseases.  He  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  but 
the  precise  time  of  his  death  is  not  known.  * 
.  BORDEU  (ThbOphilus OE),  son  to  the  preceding,  was. 
born  Feb«  22,  1722,  at  laeste  in  the  valley  of  Ossan  in  Beam, 
and  at  die.  age  of  twenty,  for  hi»  degree  of  bachelor  in  the 
university  of  Montpellier,  where  be  was  then  a  student,  he 
lield  a  thesis  '^  De  sensu  generice  consideratu,"  which  contains 
the  ground*  work  of  ail  the  publications  he  afterwards  gave. 
jSnch  early  knowledge  determined  his  professors  to  dispense 
with  several,  acts  usual  before  admission  to  practice.  In 
)743,  he  was  created  M.  D.  at  Montpellier,  and  two  years 
after  succeeded  his  father^  as  inspector  of  the  mineral  wa* 
ter^  and  professor  ojf  anatomy.     In  1747|  he  was  mad« 

*  ^loges  deff  Acadcmtciens,  vol.  in.«P»Haller  Bibl.  Cbirui^, 
.  >  nict.  Hist.-— aew's  Cyclopcditik 


104  B  O  R  D  E  U. 

corresponding  member  of  the  royal  academy  of  Sciences  at 
Paris/  whither  be  soon  after  went,  and  where  be  acquired 
^reat  reputation.  Having  taken  out  bis  licence  in  tbat  city 
in  I754y  be  was  appointed  physician  to  the  b6pital  de  la 
charit6.  He  died  of  an  apoplexy,  Nov.  24,  m&,  A 
deep  melancholy,  occasioned  by  the  flying  gout,  was  the 
fore*runner  of  his  end.  He  was  found  dead  in  his  bed. 
One  of  the  faculty,  jealous  of  bis  fame,  and  who  had  tried 
to  ruin  him  by  a  prosecution,  kaid  on  the  occasion:  ^^  I 
should  never  have  thought  he  would  have  died  in  a  horizon- 
tal position.'*  But  a  witty  lady  retorted  by  observing 
**  that  death  was  so  much  afraid  of  him,  that  he  wais  obliged 
to  catch  him  napping."  The  facility  with  which  be  exer- 
cised his  profession,  his  reluctance  to  give  medicines,  and 
his  great  confidence  in  nature,  sometimes  drew  upon  him 
the  reproach  that  he  had  not  much  faith  in  medicine ;  but 
bis  doubts  were  so  much  the  less  blameable,  as  he  was  con- 
tinually occupied  in  rendering  the  resources  of  his  art  more 
certain*  He  never  disputed  at  all  towards  the  latter  end  of  his 
life,  because  probably  he  bad  disputed  much  to  no  purpose 
in  his  youth.  Nobody  knew  better  bow  to  doubt,  and  he 
had  little  confidence  in  his  own  knowledge,  and  trusted  with 
difficulty  to  that  of  others.  Seeing  the  great  number  of 
courses  of  lectures  in  all  branches  of  science,  advertised 
every  day,  he  observed  once  to  a  friend :  **  Will  na  one 
ever  give  a  course  of  good  sense  ?"  As  he  expressed  him- 
self at  times  with  rather  too  much  acerbity  on  the  merits 
of  others,  some  of  his  professional  brethren  have  called  his 
own  into  question.  His  works,  however,  sufficiently  attest 
his  abilities.  The  principal  are,  1.  *^  Cbyiifieationis  histo* 
ria,"  1742,  reprinted  at  Paris,  1752,  Idmo.  with  his 
**  Recherches  sur  les  Glandes."  He  thought  he  observed  a 
duct  passing  from  the  thyroid  gland  to  the  trachasa ;  ad 
opinion  which  he  repeats  in  another  of  bis  works,  but  witfa^ 
put.  sufficient  ground.  3.  '^'Dissertatio  pfaysiologica  de 
sensu  generice  considerate,"  Monspelii,  1743;  8vo ;  Paris, 
1751,  with  his  "  Chylificationis  historia."  4.  "  Lettrescon^ 
tenant  des  essais  sur  Thistoire  des  Eaux  minerales  du  Beam^ 
&c.  1746, 12mo.''  In  these  he  treats  of  the  properties  of 
the  waters,  and  6f  the  geografphy  of  Beam.  5.  "Re* 
cherches  anatomiques  sur  la  position  des  /Glandes,  et  sur  leur 
actions,"  Paris,  1751,  8vo.  6. '*  Recherches  sur*  le  poub 
par  raport  aux  crises,"  Paris,  1756,  12mo;  in  which  he 
has  gone  much  beyond  Solano  in  his  discrimination  of 


B  O  R  D  E  U.  105 

pulses,  and  beyond  what  cah.be  foUpured  in  practice^  7. 
^^  Recfaerches  sur  le  tissu  muqueuz,  et  Torgane  cellulaire/* 
Paris,  1766,  12mo.  Haller  accuses  him  of  disingenuity  in 
attributing  to  himself  the  discovery  of  some  properties  of 
the  cellular  membrane,  which  bad  been  before  described 
by  bim  and  others,  but  allows  the  work  to  have,  on  the 
whole,  considerable  merit.  ^ 

BQRDEU  (Francis),  brother  to  Theophilus,  and  edct- 
<^ated  und^  his  father  and  him,  was  born  at  Pau,  in  1737. 
Having  taken  bis  degree  of  doctor  in  medicine  at  Montpel* 
lier,  in  1756,  he  returned  to  Pau,  and  was  appointed  to 
supply  the  place  of  his  brother,  as  inspector  of  the  waters 
there*  In  1757,  he  published  ^^  De  sensibilitate  et  con- 
tractibilitate,partium  in  corpore  humane  sano,''  MonspelL; 
and  in  1760,  ^<  Precis  d'observations  sur  les  Eaux  de  Bare- 
ges,*' &c.  12mo,  collected  principally  from  the  works  of 
his  father,  brother,  and  other  writers  on  the  subject  ^^  Re- 
cherches  sur  les  maladies  chroniques,  leur  rapports  avec  les. 
maladies  aigues,''  &c.  1775,  Svo;  principally  with  the 
view  of  shewing  the  utility  and  the  manner  of  administer*- 
iag  mineral  waters  in  the  cure  of  chronical  complaints.  * 

fiORDONE  (Paris),  an  Italian  artist,  was  born  atTrevigi^ 
IB  1513,  and  at  eight  years  of  age  was  conducted  to  Venice^, 
where  be  was  carefully  educated  by  one  of  his  relations. 
At  a  proper  age  he  was  placed  as  a  disciple  with  Titian^ 
under  lyhom  he  made  so  happy  a  progress,  that  he  di4  not 
cqatinue  with  him  many  years  y  especially  as  he  observed 
that  Titian  was  not  so  communicative  as  be  wished,  or  in- 
deed had  just  reason  to  expect,  and  he  lamented  that 
Giorgione  was  not  then  alive  to  instruct  bim,  because  he 
preferred  the  manner  of  that  master  to  all  others.  How« 
ever,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  he  studied  and  imitated 
the  style  of  Giorgione,  and  very  soon  rose  into  such  repu« 
tation,  that  he  was  appointed  to  paint  a  picture  in  the 
church  of  St  Nicholas,  when  he  was  only  eighteen  years 
of  age.  Some  time  after  he  received  an  invitation  to  Vin« 
ceoaa,  to  adorn  a  gallery  with  paintings  in  fresco,  part  of 
which  had  been  formerly  enriched  by  the  hand  of  Titian, 
with  a  design  representing  the  <^  Judgment  of  Solomon.'* 
Bordone  engaged  in  the  undertaking  with  an  inward  satis- 
faetioQ,  as  his  work  was  to  be  contrasted  with  the  work  of 
lus  mastery  and.  he  composed  the  history  of  ^^  Noah  and 

1  Diet  Hist— Halier  BiU  Anat— Hees's  Cyclopaedi*.  *  Ibid. 


106  B  O  R  DO  N  E. 

his  Sons/'  which  be  finished  with  his  titmost  care;  nor 
was  it  esteemed  infi^ior  to  the  work  of  Titian,  both  per- 
formances seeming  to  have  been  the  product  of  on^  pencil. 
He  likewise  finished  several  considerable  works  at  Venice 
and  Trevigi,  and  in  each  city  painted  many  portraits  of  the 
nobility  and  persons  of  distinction.     But,  in  the  j^ar  1538, 
he  entered  into  the  service  of  Francis  L  of  France,  and 
added,  continually  to  his  reputation,  by  every  historical 
.subject  and  portrait  which:  he  finished,  as  they  were  ex* 
-cellently  designed,  and  had  a  charming  tone  of  colour  to 
'recommend  them.     On  his  quitting  Frauee,  lie  visited  the 
^principal  cities  of  Italy,  and  left  a  number  of  memoraU^ 
works,  as  monuments  of  his  extraordinary  abilities.     His 
.colouring  has  all  the  appearance  of  nature, ^  nor  can  any 
thing  be  more  lively  or  more  admired  than  the  portraits  of 
Bordone.     Sereral  of  them  are  still  preserved  in  tbe.Pa^ 
lazzo  Pltti,  at  Florence,  of  which  the  jcolouviog  is  exees« 
si vely  clear,  fresh,  ai>d  truly  beautiful*     He  di^  in  1588 
according  to  Vasari,  but  in.  1578  according  to  f  elibien 
•and  Argenville.  * 

BOREL  (Pjster),  a  French  physician,  naturalist,  and 
^^hemist,  was  boni  atCastres,  in  Languedoc,  about  1620. 
After  studying  medicine,  he  received  his.  doctor's  degree, 
as  is  supposed,  in  .1641,  and  began  practice  at  his  native 
place.  ^  He  collected  a  very  fine  museum  of  natural  cario- 
sities, of  which  he, published  a  catalogue,  ^' Catalc^ue  des 
Haretes  de  Pierre  Borel  de  Castres,"  ibid.  16.45^  4ito. 
Niceron  thinks  he  published  this  to  get  a  name  and  prac* 
tice  :  it  appears,  indeed,  from  the  dedication  of  his  <^  Bib* 
liodseca  Chimica,''  that  he  was  not  ricb^  as  he  there  com- 
plains that  he  could  not  afford  to  print  his  works,  iln  1 65*3, 
he  came  to  Paris,  .and  some  time  after  was  appointed  phy- 
sician to  the  king,  but  it  is  thought  this  was  merely  an.  bau 
Borary  title,  and  we  are^  not  certain  whether  he  remained 
afterwards  at  Paris.  He  was,  however,  elected  in  1674 
into  the  academy  of  sciences,  as  a  chemist.  Niceron  sayit 
he.  died  in  L689,  but  a  letter  addressed  to  Bayle  in  16.78 
speaks  of  him  as  then  just  dead.  He  published,  1 .  <^  Les 
Antiquit^s,  Raretes,  &c;  de  la  ville  et  comte.de  Castres, 
&c.**  Castres,  1649,  8vo.  2.  ^^  Historiarum  et  observa. 
tionum  Medico-Physicarum,  centuria  prima. et  aecunda,^' 
ibid*.  16 A3,  8vo,   and  often >  reprinted.     %.  ^  Bib^othMa 

y  Ptlkiostoii.'-*«>Aif«nTilk.— Vssari. 


B  O  R  E  ^  IDT 

rchimkay  seu  caialogus  Ubrorum  philosophieorumhenneli- 
,€aruin,  in  quo  qoatuor  millia  circiter  authorum  ofaemico* 
rum,  &c^  cum  eorum  editionibus,.,  usque  ad  annum  1653 
/coatinentur,"  Paris,  1654;  Heidelberg,  1656,   12mo.     la 
'this  work  he  gives  the  titles  of  these  chemical  works,  bot 
very  rarely  the  dates.     4.  *^  De  vero  Telescopii  Inventore, 
cum  brevi  omnium  oonspicillocum  bistoria,"  &c.«  Hague, 
J  655,  4ta.      5.  <^  Tresor  des   Recherches  et  Antiquitds 
Gauloises^  reduites  en  ordre  alpbabetique,  et  enrichiee  de 
beaucoup  d'origines,  epitapbes,  et  autres  choses  rares  et 
<:urieuses,  comme  aussi  de  beaucoup  dermots  de  la  langpue 
<Tbyoiae  ou  Tiieutfranque/*  Paris,.  I  €55^  4to.     This  is  a 
very  curious  and  rare  work,  much  priced  by  the  French 
antiquaries.     6.  /^  Poeme  a  la  louange  de  rimprimerieJ* 
,7.  '^  Carmina  in  laudem  regis,,  reginae,  et  eardinalis  Ma^a- 
riai,^^  4to.     8,  *^  Auctarium  ad  Vitam  Peirescii,'*  in  the 
.^Hague    edition    of    that  life    published    in    1655,    4to^ 
r9,  ^'Commenium  in  antiquum  pbilosi^bum.Syrum,^'  1655. 
10,  f^  Hortus  seu  Armamentarium  simplicium  Planiarum  et 
Animalium  ad  artem  medicam  spectantium,"  &c.  Castres, 
16j67,8vq.     U.  ^' De  Curationibus  Sympatbeticis,*'  priiited 
in  the  ^^Theatrum  Sympathetlcum,^'  -Nuriipberg,    1662, 
4to.     12.  ^' Discourse  nouveau,  prouvant  la  Plurality  :d^ 
Mondes,"  Geneva,  8vo,  and  translated  into  English  by  O. 
.Sashott,  Lond.   165.B.     13.  ^^  Vitse  Renati  Cartesii  coai- 
pendiuiB,^'  Paris,  1656,  8vo.     Borel  appi^ars  to  have  been 
a  man  of  great  learning,  and  indefatigable  in  his  researches, 
but  in  medicine  somewhat  credulous.     Hi$entiquariaD  pro- 
ductions are  most  esteemed.  ^         •  i 
.    BORELLI  (John  ALPHONsa),  a  celebrated  philosopher 
and  mathematician,  was  born  at  Naples  the  28th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1606.     He  was  professor  of  philoaopby  and  mathemii- 
tics  in  some  of  the  most  celebrated  miiyersities  of  Italy, 
particularly  at  Florence  and  Pisa,  where  he  became  higfafy 
in  favourwitb  the  princes  of  the  hou^  of  Medici*    -But 
.Jiaving%been  concerned  in  the  revolt  of  Messina,  be  was 
obliged  to  retire  to  Rome,  -where  he  spent  the  remainder 
i>f  bis  life  under  the  protection  of  Christina  queen  of  Sive- 
den,  who  honoured  him  with  her  friendship,  and  by  her 
Ubejpality.  to  wards  him  softened,  the  rigour  of  his  hard  for- 
tune.    He  continued  two  years  -in  the  convent  of  the  regu« 
Jar  clergy  of  St.  Pantalepn,  called  the  Pious  Scboolg,  wbeie^ 

'  Chaofcpic's  Dicr.-*NicenN}.-— Eloges  jdeg  AcademiciensV  toI.  I.  p.  ]80«— 
^H anget  mmI  UaHer;*— Saxti  Oiioiiwsi)coo» 


lOB  B  O  R  E  L  L  I. 

lie  instructed  the  youth  iu  mathematical  studies.    And  this 
study  fare  prosecuted  with  great  diligence  for  many  years 
aftersvard,  as  appears  by  his  correspondence  with  several 
ingenious  mathematicians  of  his  time,  and  the  frequent 
mention  that  has  been  made  of  him  by  others,  who  havi^ 
endeavoured  to  do  justice  to  his  memory.     He  wrote  a  let- 
ter to  Mr.  John  Collins,  in  which  he  discovers  his  great 
desire  and  endeavouA  to  promote  the  improvement  of  those 
sciences :  he  also  speaks  of  bis  correspondence  with,  and 
great  affection  for,  Mr.  Henry  Oldenhurgh,  secre^ry   of 
the  royal  society ;  of  Dr.  Wallis ;  of  the  then  late  learned 
Mr.  Boyle^  and  lamented  the  loss  sustained  by  bis  death  to 
the  common weahh  of  learning.    Mr.  Baxter,  in  his  <<  En- 
quiry into  the  Nature  of  the  Hiiman  Soul^**  makes  frequent 
mse  of  our  author's  book  <*  De  Motu  Animalinm^*'  aiMJl 
telld  us,  that  he  was  the  first  who  discovered  that  the  force 
exerted  within  the  body  prodigiously  exceeds  the  weight 
to  be  moved  without,  or  that  nature  employs  an  immense 
power  to  move  a  small  weight.     But  he  acknowledges  that 
Dr.  James  Keil  had  shewn  that  Borelli  was  mistaken  in  hia 
calculation  of  the  force  of  the  muscle  of  the  heart  i  b^t 
that  he  nevertheless  ranks  him  with  the  most  authentic  writ^ 
ers,  and  says  he  is  seldom  mistaken :  and,  having  remarked 
that  ittris  so  far  irom  being  true,  that  great  things  arei 
brought  about  by  small  powers,  on  the  contrary,  a  stu- 
pendous power  is  manifest  in  the  most  ordinary  operar 
tions  of  nature,  he  observes  that  the  ingenious  Borelli  first 
remarked  this  in  animal  motion ;  and  that  Dr.  Stephen 
Hales,  by  a  course  of*  experiments  in  his  ^*  Vegetable 
Statics,^'  bad  shiswn  the  same  in  the  force  of  the  ascend<^ 
ing  sap  in  vegetables.    j\  er  a  course  c^  unceasing  labours^* 
Borelli  died  at  Pan  talc-on  of  a  pleurisy,  the  31st  of  De« 
'Cember  1679^  at  72  years  of  age,  leaving  the  following 
works:  1.  ^ Delle cagioni delle febri  maligni,**  1649,  12mo* 
2.  "  Euclides  restitutus,'*  &c.  Pisa,  1658,  4to.     3.  "  ApoU 
lonii  Pergeei  conicorum,  libri  v.  vi.  &  vii.  parapbraste  AbaU 
phato  Aspahanensi  nunc  primum  editi,'^  &c.  Floren.  16^1^ 
fol.     4.  **  Theories  Medicorum  Planetarum  ex  causis  pby^ 
sicis  deductae,"  Flor.  1666^  4to.   5.  "  De  Vi  Percussionis,** 
Bologna,  1667,  4to.     This  piece  was  reprinted,  with  bi^ 
•fiamous  treatise  ^^  De  Motu  Aoimalium,'*  and  that  ^  De 
Motionibus  Naturalibus,'^  in  1^86.     6.  **  Osservazione  in« 
torno  alia  virtu  ineguali  degli  occbi.**     This  piece  was  in-t. 
serted  in  the  Journal  of  Rome  for  the  year  1669*    2^^!^Jd» 


B  O  R  £  L  L  I.  109 

motioiubus  naturalibus  e  gravitate  pendentibus/*  ttegiQ 
Julio,  1670,  4to.  8.  "  Meteorologia  ^tnea,"  &c.  Re- 
gioJalio,  1670,  4t6.  9.  <<  Ossetvazione  deir  ecclissi  lu^ 
pare,  fatta  in  Roma,**  1675.  Inserted  in  the  Journal  of 
'Borne,  1675,  p.  34.  10.  "  Elementa  conica  ApoUonii  Per- 
gaei  et  Archiniedis  opera  nova  et  breviori  metbodo  demon^. 
strata,"  Rome,  1^79,  12mo,  at  the  end. of  the  3d  edition 
bf  his  Euclides  restitutus.  11.  '' De  Motu  Animalium: 
pars  prim'ay  et  pars  altera,"  Romaet,  1681,  4to.^  This  was 
r&printed  at  Leyden,  revised  and  corrected ;  to  which  wa$ 
9ukled  John  Bernouilli's  mathematical  meditations  concern* 
ing  theinotiott  of  the  muscles.  1 2.  At  Leyden,  1686,  in  4to^ 
a  more  correct  and  accurate  edition,  revised  by  J.  Broen^ 
M,  D.  of  Leyden,  of  his  two  pieces  ^^  De  vi  percussionis, 
^t  de  motionious  de  gravitate  pendentibus,"  &c.  13.  ^^  De 
renum  usu  judicium  f'  this  had  been  published  with  Bel* 
4iui*s  book  ^^  De  structura  renum,"  at  Strasburgb,  1664, 
Svo. » 

BOREMAN  (RoBEaT),  D.  D.  a  piou«  and  learned  di« 
^ne  of  tb6  seventeenth  century,  and  brother  to  sir  William 
Boreman,  clerk  of  the  green  cloth  to  Charles  IL  was  fel<« 
low  of  Trinity  college,  Cambridge,  S.  T.  P.  peY  literas 
regias,  1661,  and  afterwards  rector  of  St.  Giles's  in  the 
Fields,  London.  He  died  in  November,  1675,  at  Green«> 
wich,  where  he  was  buried.  He  published,  1.  ^f  The 
Churehman^s  Catechism :  or  the  Church's  plea  for  Tithes,'* 
Lend.  1651^  4to.  2.  <<  The  Triumphs  of  learning  over 
ignorance,  and  of  truth  over  falsehood ;  being  an  answer 
to  four  queries,  first,  whether  there  be  any  need  of  uni- 
versities," &c.  ibid.  1663,  4to..  3.  "  A  Panegyrick  and 
Sermon  at  the  funeral  of  Dr.  Comber,  master  of  Trinity 
collie,  and  dean  of  Carlisle,"  1^54,  4to.  4.  ^^  Life  and 
death  of  Freeman  Sends,  esq."  and  *'  Relation  of  sir 
George  Sends'  narrative  of  the  passages  on  the  death  of 
bis  two  sons,"  ibid.  4to.  This  Freeman  Sends  was  exe* 
cuted  for  the  murder  of  his  brother.  5.  '*  Life  and  death 
of  Alice  dutchess  Dudley,'*  ibid.  1669,  4to$  and  two  or 
three  occasional  sermons, ' 

•   BORGHINI  (Vincent),  was  born  at  Florence  in  1515 
of  a  noble  family,  and  became  a  Benedictine  monk  in  1531. 

He  was  one  of  the  persons  appointed  to  correct  the  Deca- 

•~  "  ■  » 

.  ^  Pahroni  VitiB  Italoinm. — Martin's  Bios*  Philosophica.— >Qea.  Dict.^— Hallcr 
Bibl.  4iiat.;r-Saxii  OnomasticOn. — Hutton's  Math.  Diet. 
^  ^  Atli.  Ox.  rol.  H.  Flitti.«— Xyfom'f  Satlrom,  toK  IV. 


116  B  O  R  G  H  I  N  L 

meron  of  Boecace,  by  order  of  the  council  of  Trent,  anil 
performed  this  curious  task  for  the  edition  of  Ftorence^ 
1573,  8to.     But  the  best  Jcndwli  of  his  works,  and  which 
did  him  the  most  honour,  is  that  entitled,  **  Disconsi  di 
M.  Vincenzo  Borghini,'*  printed   at   Florence    1584   and 
1S85,  in  2  vols.  4to,  and  reprinted  at  the  same  place   in 
1755,  with  annotations.     In  these  dissertations  he  treats  of 
the  origin  of  Florence,  and  of  several  interesting  partitju- 
lars  of  its  history,  of  its  families,  of  its  cofns^  &c.     Borg^ 
hini  died  in  1680,  after  having  refused,  through  humility; 
the  archbishopric  of  Pisa,  which  was  offered  to  bim  soin« 
time  before  his  death.     His  only  promotion  was  that    of 
prior  of  the  hospital  of  St.  Maria  degli  Innocenti  in  Fl<>»v 
rence.  Another  writer  of  the  same  name  [Rafaello  Boro* 
HiNfj,  was  author  of  several  comedies,  and  of  a  traA   on 
painting  and  sculpture,  in  some  estimation,  under  the  title 
of  **  Riposo  della  Pittura,  e  della  Scultura,'*  published   at 
Florence  in  1584,  8vo.*  t 

BORGIA  (CiESAR),  a  monster  of  ambition  and  cruelty, 
was  a  natural  son  of  pope  Alexander  VI«  What  year  h^ 
was  borh  in,  we  do  not  find  r  but  he  was  at  his  studi^  ii) 
the  university  of  Pisa,  when  Alexander  was  elected  pope, 
HI  August  1492.  Upon  the  news  of  his  father's  advance^ 
ment,  he  banished  all  thoughts  of  his  former  private  con* 
dition  of  life ;  and,  full  of^mbition,  as  if  himself  was  to  be 
made  emperor  of  the  world,  he  haistened  directly  to  Rome^ 
ivfaere  Alexander  received  him  with  formaHty  and  coldncsss, 
but  whether  it  was  real  or  but  a^Gected,  is  not  easy  to  deter- 
mine. Caesar,  however,  took  it  to  be  real ;  and,  greatly 
disgusted  as  well  as'  disappointed,  went  immediately  ainct 
complained  to  his  mother  Vanozza,  who  bid  him  not  be 
cast  down  ;  and  told  him,  that  she  knew  tlie  pope's  mind 
better  than  any  body,  and  for  what  reasons  his  holiness  had 
given  bim  that  reception.  In  the  mean  time  the  coinrt^ 
flatterers  8o|icited  the  pope  to  make  Ccesar  a<  cardinal'^ 
which  he  absolutely  refused ;  but,  that  he  might  not  seem 
altogether  forgetful  of  bim,  he  created  htm  archbishop  at^ 
Valenza,  a  benefice  which  bis  holiness  bad  enjoyed  in  hin 
younger  days.  This  preferment  was  by  no  means  accept- 
able  to  Coesar,  yet  he  affected  to  be  content,  since  the 
pope,  he  found,  was  determined  to  confer  the  best  of  hi«  * 
secuhuT' dignities  on  his  eldest  sou  Francis,  who  at  that  time 

*  PipU  Hist.— SftxU  OuomastiooQ. 


•  M   >  • 


I 


BORGIA.  lit 

Wks  made  duke  of  Gandia'  by  Ferdmand  king  of  Castile 
W)d  Arragon. 

Alexander  VI.  had  five  childten  by  his  mistress  Vanoz- 
2a;  Francis  and  Caesar,- already  mentioned,  tvfro  other  sons^ 
and  a  daughter  named  Lucretia.  Francis  was  a  gentleman 
of  good  disposition  and  probity,  and  in  every  respect  op- 
posite to  his  brother  Csesar ;  but  Ceesar  seems  to  Intve  pos- 
sessed abilities  superior  to  those  of  Francis  :  which  made  a 
certain  historian  say,  *'  that  Ceesar  was  great  among  the 
wicked,  and  Francis  good  among  the  great.'*  Caesar  how* 
e?er  was  the  mother^s  favourite,  as  having  a  temper  anxl 
principles  more  conformable  to  hers  :  for  which  reason,  at 
the  time  when  Alexander  was  undetermined  on  which  of 
these  brothers  he  should  bestow  the  cardinal's  cap,  Va- 
fil)zfhi  declared  herself  in  favour  of  Caesar,  who  was  accord«> 
ingly  made  a  cardinal  in  the  second  year  of  Alexander's 
pontificate.  From  this  time  he  acted  in  concert  with  his 
father,  and  was  an  useful  instrument  in  executing  all  th6 
schemes  of  that  wicked  pope,  as  he  had  no  scruples  of 
honour  or  humanjity,  nor  was  there  any  thing  too  atrocious 
for  him  to  perpetrate,  to  promote  his  insatiable  ambition. 
This  is  said  to  have  even  incited  him  to  the  murder  of  his 
elder  brother  Francis,  duke  of  ;Gtindia.  All  the  secular 
dignities,  which  then  were  much  more  coveted  than  the 
ecclesiastical,  were  heaped  upon  Francis,  which  obstructed 
Ca&sar's  projects  so  entirely,  that  he  was  resolved  at  all  ad- 
ventures to  remove  him.  The  story  is,  th^t  in  1497,  hir- 
ing assassins,  he  caused  him  to  be  murdered,  and  throwit 
into  the  Tiber ;  where  his  body  was  found  ^spme  days  after, 
full  of  wounds  and  extremely  mangled.  The  pope  was 
afflicted  to  the  last  degree ;  for  though  he  made  use  of 
Csesar  as  the  ablier,  he  loved  Francis  as  the  better  man.  He 
caused  therefore  strict  inquiry  to  be  made  after  the  mur- 
derers; upon  which  Vanozza,  who  for  that  and  other  reasonji 
was  justly  suspected  to  be  privy  to  the  affair,  went  privately 
to  the  pope,  and  used  all  the  arguments  she  could,  to  dis- 
suade him  from  searching  any  furthen  Some  say,  that  she 
went  so  far  as  to  assure  his  holiness,  that  if  he  did  not  desist, 
the  same  person  who  took  away  his  son's  life  would  not  spare 
his  own.  The  whole  of  this  story,  however,  appears  doubtful ; 
nor,  indeed,  is  there  any  positive  proof  that  Borgia  was'eveu' 
prjyy  to  his  brother's  death,  Gordon,  only,  has  asserted 
it  with  accompanying  proofs,  but  the  latter  appear  to  b^' 
historic?  fictions.     Jt  cannpt  be  necessary  to  add  to  Cwsar'* 


114  B  O  R  G  I  A, 

either  to  his  errors  or  his  crimes.     If,  however,  he  haiJ 
been  too  indiscriminately  condemned  by  one  historian,  he 
has  in  another  met  with  as  zealous  and  as  powerful  an  en- 
eomiast,  and  the  maxims  of  the  politician  are  only  the 
faithful  record  of  the  transactions  of  his  hero.     On  the 
principles  of  Machiavelli,  Borgia  was  the  greatest  man  of 
the  age.     Nor  was  he,  iu  fact,  without  qualities  which  in 
some  degree  compensated  for  his  demerits.     Courageous^ 
magnificent,  eloquent,  and  accomplished  in  all  the  exer- 
cises of  arts  and  arms,  he  raised  an  admiration  of  his  eti« 
dowments  which  kept  pace  with  and  counter-balanced  the 
abhorrence  excited  by  his  crimes.    That  evefli  these  crimes 
have  been  exaggerated,  is  highly  probable.     His  enemies 
were  numerous,  and  the  certainty  of  his  guilt  in  some  in- 
stances gave  credibility  to  every  imputation  that  could  be 
devised  against  him.     That  he  retained,  even  after  he  had 
survived  his  prosperity,  no  inconsiderable  share  of  public 
estimation,   is  evident  from  the  fidelity  and  attachment 
shewn  to  him  on  many  occasions.     After  his  death,   his 
memory  and  achievements  were  celebrated  by  (Strozza) 
one   of  the  most  elegant  Latin  poets  that  Italy  has  pro- 
duced.    The  language  of  poetry  is  not  indeed  always  that 
of  truth;  but  we  may  at  least  give  credit  to  the  accoune 
of  the  personal  accomplishments  and  warlike  talents   of 
JBorgia,  although  we  may  indignantly  reject  the  spurious 
praise,  which  places  him  among  the  heroes  of  antiquity, 
and  at  the  summit  of  fame." 

The  evidence  of  a  poet  is  certainly  inconclusive,  and 
although  the  *^  personal  accomplishments  and  warlike  ta- 
lents" may  be  proved,  and  have  not  been  lessened,  yet 
.they  weigh  little  against  those  crimes  which  stand  uncon- 
tradicted,  and  form  one  of  the  vilest  characters  in  history.  * 

BORGIA  (Stephen),  a  learned  Roman  cardinal,  was 
J[>orn  of  a  noble  family  at  Velletri,  in  IT^i  ;  and  as  the  se- 
cond son  of  the  family,  was  from  his  birth  destined  for  the 
clerical  dignities.  In  youth  he  appears  to  have  been  stu-^ 
dious,.  and  particularly  attentive  to  historic  and  diplomatic 
science,  and  modern  and  ancient  languages.  In  1770,  he 
was  appointed  secretary  to  the  congregation  of  Propa- 
ganda, the  purposes  of  which  are  to  furnish  missionaries  to 
propagate  Christianity,  on  popish  principles ;  and  into  this 

1  Gen.  Diet — Gordon's  Lives  of  Alexander  VI.  and  his  son,  1728-9,  fol.-^ 
Roscoe's  Leo,— Seward's  Anecdotes,  &c. 


BORGIA.  11.5 

college  children  are  admitted  from  Asia  and  Africa,  ia 
order  to  be  instructed  in  religion,  and. to  diffuse  it,  oik 
their  return,  through  their  native  countries,  A  more  fit 
person  could  not  be  selected  than  Borgi^,  as  be  bad  both 
zeal  and  learning.  In  1771,  the  abb6  Amaduzzi,  director 
of  the  printing-house  of  the  college,  procured  the  casting 
of  the  Malabar  types,  and  published  some  works  in  that 
language,  as  well  as  in  those  of  the  Indians  of  Ava  and  of 
Pegu.  By  the  care  of  this  new  secretary  also,  an  Etruscan 
alphabet  was  published,  which  soon  proved  of  the  highest 
benefit  to  Passeri :  for,  by  its  means,  this  celebrated  anti- 
quary, in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  could  better  explain 
than  he  had  ever  done  some  Etruscan  monuments  of  the 
highest  interest.  ^  About  this  time  he  began  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  the  family  museum  at  Vellecri,  which,  be- 
fore 1780,  exhibited  no  less  than  eighty  ancient  Egyptian 
statues  in  bronze  or  marble,  many  Etruscan  and  Greek 
idols,  numerous  coins,  inscriptions,  &c.  To  form  some 
idea  of  the  total  of  this  museum,  it  may  be  observed  that 
only  a  small  part  of  it,  relative  to  Arabic  antiquity,  was  the 
subject  of  the  description  which,  in  1782,  was  published 
under  the  title  of  "  Musaeum  Cusicum."  He  had  long 
before  this  published  "  Monumento  di  Giovanni  XVL 
summo  Pontifice  illustrato,"  Rome,  1750,  8vo.  "  Breve 
Istoria  delP  antica  citta  di  Tadino  nell'  Umbria,  &c."  ibid. 
1751,  8vo.  "  Dissertatione  sopra  un'  antica  Iscrizione 
rinuentaneir  Isoladi  Malta  nell'  anno  1749,"Fermo,  1751, 
and  ^<  Dissertatione  Filologica  sopra  un'  antica  gemma  in- 
tj^liata." 

About  1782;  he  gave  a  new  proof  of  his  attention  to  the 
interests^  of  learning  and  religion,  on  the  following  occa- 
sion. An  island,  near  Venice,  is  inhabited  by  Armenian 
monks ;  and  those  fathers  make  no  use  of  any  language 
but  their  own,  printing  rituals  and  d|bvotional  books  in 
Armenian,  and  carrying  on  a  considerable  commerce  in 
such  books  through  the  East,  No  one,  however,  had 
thought  of  going  to  pass  some  time  among  these  fathers, 
with  a  view  of  learning  their  language,  until  Borgia,  fore- 
seeing the  advantages  that  might  result  from  it,  sent  one 
Gabriele,  a  Capuchin,  to  spend  some  time  with  these 
monks  in  learning  the  Armenian ;  and  afterwards  engaged 
him  to  go  on  a  mission  to  Astracan,  to  preach  in  Arme- 
nian, and  to  avail  himself  of  that  opportunity  to  compiler 
an  Italian- Armenian,  and   Armenian-Italian  Dictionary. 

-   I  2 


116  BORGIA. 

Father  Gabriele  fulfilled  these  injunctions,  and,  on  his  re* 
turn,  he  delivered  the  Dictionary  into  the  hands  of  the 
librarian  of  the  Propaganda. 

In  1788  he  published  his  "  Vindication  of  the  rights  of 
the  Holy  See  on  the  kingdom  of  Naples,"  4to,  a  work  now 
of  little  importance,  and  relating  to  a  dispute  which  will 
probably  never  be  revived.     On  the  30th  of  March,  1789^ 
he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  cardinal,   and  about  the 
game  time  was  appointed  prefect  of  the  congregation  of 
the  Index  ;  and,  what  was  more  analogous  to  his  pursuits, 
he  held  the  same  office  in  the  Propaganda,  and  in  the 
congregation  for  the  correction  of  the  books  of  the  oriental 
churches.     After  these  promotions,  he  continued  to  be  the 
liberal  patron  of  all  who  had  any  connection   either  with 
his  offices  or  with  his  literary  pursuits,  until  Italy  was  in« 
Taded  by  the  French,  when,  like  the  greater  part  of  his 
X  colleagues,  he  was  involved  in  losses  and  dangers,  both 
with  respect  to  his  fortune  and  to  his  pursuits.     He  for- 
feited all  his  benefices,  and  was  near  witnessing  the  de- 
struction of  all  the  establishments  committed  to  his  care, 
especially  the  Propaganda.     He  was  soon,  however,  extri- 
cated from  his  personal  difficulties;  and,  by  his  timely 
measures,  the  invaluable  literary  treasures  of  the  Propa- 
ganda were  also  saved.     He  was  allowed  a  liberal  pension 
irom  the  court  of  Denmark,  and  he  soon  obtained  the  re- 
moval of  the  establishment  of  the  Propaganda  to  Padua,   a 
city  which,  being  then  under  the  dominion  of  the  emperor 
of  Germany,  was  thought  to  be  sheltered  from  robbery. 
Here  he  remained  till  the  death  of  pope  Pius  VI.  after 
which  he  repaired,  with  his  colleagues,  to  Venice,  to  at- 
tend the  conclave ;  and,  a  new  pope  being  elected,  he 
returned  to  Rome.     When  the  coronation  of  the  emperor 
of  France  was  ordered,  cardinal  Borgia  was  one  of  those 
individuals  who  were  selected  by  the  pope  as  the  compa- 
nions of  his  intended  journey  to  Paris,  but  having  caught 
a  violent  cold  on  his  way,  he  died  dt  Lyons,  Nov.  23,  1804. 
Cardinal  Stephen  Borgia  was  not  much  favoured  by  na- 
ture  with  respect  to  person.     He  was  so  clumsy,  add  his 
motions  so  much  embarmssed,  as  to  have  little  of  the  ap« 
pearance  of  a  person  of  birth  and  rank.     He  was  far,  also, 
from  being  nice  in  his  bouse  or  equipage.     These  little 
defects,  however,  were  compensated  by  the  superior  qua- 
lities of  his  mind.     From  the  time  of  Alexander  Albani, 
mo  Roman  cardinal  had  so  many  distinguished  connections 


BORGIA.  117 

mud  correspondents  in  every  part  of  Europe :  and  a  great 
similarity  (elegance  of  manners  excepted)  was  remarked 
between  the  character  of  tliat  illustrious  prelate  and  bis 
own.  The  Borgian  MS.  so  called  by  Michaelis,  i^.  a  frag- 
ment of  a  Coptic-Greek  manuscript,  brought  by  a  monk 
from  Egypt,  consisting  of  about  twelve  leaves,  and  sent  to 
cardinal  Borgia.  The  whole  of  it  is  printed  jn  "Georgii 
Fragmentum  Graeco-Copto-Thebaicum,"  Rome,  1789, 
4to.  * 

BORGIANNI  (Horatio),  a  painter  and  engraver,  was 
born  at  Rome,  in  1630,  and  learned  design  from  Giulio 
Borgian ni  his  brother  ;  but  improved  himself  by  studying 
the  capital  performances  of  the  ancient  and  modern  artists, 
which  he  was  enabled  to  contemplate  every  day  in  bis  na« 
tive  city.  Having  had  an  offer  from  a  nobleman,  of  travel- 
ling with  him  in  a  tour  through  Europe,  he  willingly  ac«- 
cepted  it,  .from  a  desire  of  being  acquainted  with  the  dif- 
ferent customs  and  manners  of  different  nations.*  But  his 
pi:ogress  was  stopped  by  his  falling  in  love  with  a  young 
woman  in  Spain,  to  whom  be  was  afterwards  married ;  and 
finding  his  circumstances  reduced  to  a  narrow  compass,  he 
applied  himself  to  his  profession  with  double  diligence,  to 
procure  a  comfortable  support.  His  endeavours  were  soon 
successful ;  and  he  was  happy  enough  to  find  many  friends, 
admirers,  and  employers,  and  was  accounted  one  of  the 
best  painters  in  Spain.  After  the  death  of  his  wife,  hav- 
ing then  no  attachment  to  that  country,  he  returned  to 
Rome,  and  painted  some  historical  subjects  larger  than 
life;  but  the  figures  being  above  his  accustomed  size, 
shewed  a  want  of  correctness  in  several  of  the  members, 
which  made  his  pictures  not  quite  acceptable  to. the  re- 
fined taste  of  the  Roman  school.  He  was,  however,  en- 
gaged in  some  great  works  for  the  chapels  and  convents, 
and  s^lso  to  paint  portraits,  by  which  he  acquired  honour, 
and  lived  in  affluence.  He  died  in  1681,  of  a  broken 
heart,  in  consequence  of  the  ill  treatment  be  received, 
through  the  envy  and  villainy  of  one  Celio,  a  painter,  who 
proved  a  most  malicious  competitor,  and  to  whom  he  had 
been  often  preferred,  by  the  best  judges  of  painting  at 
Rome  ;  but  he  died  lamented  and  pitied  by  every  worthy 
man  of  his  profession. 

'  AtheoaBuni)  vol.  V.«-Saxii  Oaomaaticon.— Rees's  Cyclopedia,  art.  Borgian 
MS. 


118  B  O  R  G  I  A  N  N  I. 

As  an  engraver,  he  is  probably  best  known  to  many  of 
our  readers,  for  his  engravings  of  the  Bible  histories, 
which  were  painted  by  Raphael  in  the  Vatican,  commonly 
called  "  Raphael's  Bible,"  small  plates,  length-ways, 
dated  1615,  wfeich  are  very  slight,  and  seem  to  be  the 
hasty  productions  of  his  point.  Mr.  Strutt  says,  that  his 
most  finished  etching  is  ^*  a  dead  Christ,"  a  small  square 
plate,  the  figure  greatly  foreshortened,  and  behind  ap- 
pear the  two  Mary's  and  St.  John,  who  is  kissing  Qne  of 
the  hands  of  our  Saviour.  His  etchings  are,  in  general, 
in  a  bold,  free  manner,  and  more  finished  than  usual,  wheii 
considered  as  the  works  of  a  painter,  but  in  some  the 
drawing  is  not  correct.* 

BORLACE  (Dr.  Edmund),  son  of  sir  John  Borlace, 
master  of  the  ordnance,  and  one  of  the  lords  justices  of 
Ireland,  was  born  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  educated 
at  the  university  of  Dublin.  Then  he  travelled  to  Leyden, 
where  he  commenced  doctor  of  physic  in  1650,  and  was 
afterwards  admitted  to  the  same  degree  at  Oxford.  At 
last  he  settled  at  Chester,  where  he  practised  physic  with 
great  reputation  and  success;  and  where  he  died  in  1683. 
Among  several  books  which  he  wrote  and  published,  are, 
1.  "  Latham  Spaw  in  Lancashire  :  with  some  remarkable 
cases  and  cures  effected  by  it,'*  Lond.  1670,  8vo,  dedi- 
cated to  Charles  earl  of  Derby.  2.^^  The  Reduction  of 
Ireland  to  the  Crown  of  England :  with  the  governors 
since  the  conquest  by  king  Henry  II.  anno  1 172,  and  some 
passages  in  their  government,  A  brief  account  of  the  re- 
bellion, ann.  Dom.  1641.  Also  the  original  of  the  univer- 
sity of  Dublin,  and  the  college  of  physicians,"  Lond.  1675, 
a  large  octavo.  3.  "  The  History  of  the  execrable  Irish 
Rebellion,  traced  from  many  preceding  acts  to  the  grand 
eruption,  Oct.  23,  1641  ;  and  thence  pursued  to  the  act  of 
settlement,  1672,"  Lond.  1680,  folio.  Wood  tells  us,  that 
much  of  this  book  is  taken  from  another,  entitled  "  The 
Irish  Rebellion;  or,  The  History  of  the  beginnings  and 
first  progress  of  the  general  rebellion  raised  within  the 
kingdom  of  Ireland,  Oct.  23,  1641,''  Lond.  1646,  4to, 
written  by  sir  John  Temple,  master  of  the  rolls,  one  of  his 
majesty'^  privy  council  in  Ireland,  and  father  of  the  cele- 
brated sir  William  Temple,  4.  "  Brief  Reflections  on  the 
^rl  of  Castlebaven's  Memoirs  of  his  engagement  and  c|^r- 

1  Pilkington  and  Strutt. 


B  O  R  L  A  C  E. 


lid 


tiage  in  the  War  of  Ireland.  By  which  the  government  of 
that  time,  and  the  justice  of  the  crown  since,  are  vindi- 
cated from  aspersions  cast  upon  both,"  Lond.  1682,  8vo.  * 

BORLASE  (William),   a  learned   English  antiquary, 
was  b6rn  at  Pendeen,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Just,  Gornwall, 
February  2,  1695-6.    The  family  of  that  name,  from  which 
he  was  descended,  had   been  settled   at  the  place  from 
whence  they  derived  it  (Borlase),  from  the  time  of  king 
William  Rufus.     Our  author  was  the  second  son  of  John 
Borlase,  esq.  of  Pendeen,  in  the  parish  before  mentioned, 
byLydia,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Christopher  Harris, 
esq.  of  Hs^yne  in  the  county  of  Devon  ;  and  was  put  early 
to  school  at  Penzance,  from  which  he  was  removed,  iii 
1 709,  to  the  care  of  the  rev.  Mr.  Bedford,  then  a  learned 
school-master  at  Plymouth.     Having  completed  his  gram* 
matical  education,  he  was  entered  of  Exeter  college,  Ox- 
ford, in  March  1712-13;  where,  on  the  1st  of  June  1719, 
he  took  the  degree  of  master  of  arts;     In  the  same  year, 
Mr.  Borlase  was  admitted  to  deacon^s  orders,  and  ordained 
priest  in  1720.     On  the  22d  of  April,  1722^  he  was  in- 
stituted, by  Dr.  Weston,  bishop  of  Exeter,  to  the  rectory 
of  Ludgvan  in  Cornwall,  to  which  he  had  been  presented 
by  Charldis  Duke  of  Bolton  *.     On  the  28th  of  July,  1724, 
he  was  married   in  the  church  of  lUuggan^  by  his  dder 
brother.  Dr.  Borlase  of  Castlehorneck,  to   Anne,    eldest 
surviving  daughter   and  coheir  of  William  Smith,  ]yi.  A* 
rector  of  the  parishes  of  C^mborn  and  Illuggan.     In  1732, 
the  lord  chancellor  King,  by  the  recommendation  of  sir 
William  Morice,  hart,  presented  Mr.  Borlase  to  the  vicar* 
age  of  St.  Just,  his  native  parish,  and  where  his  father 
had  a  considerable  property.     This  viqarage  and  the  rec- 
tory of  Ludgvan  were  the  only  preferments  he  ever  re- 
ceived. 

When  Mr.  Borlase  was  fixed  at  Ludgvan,  which  was  a 
retired,  but  delightful  situation,  he  soon   recommended 


*  This  was  not  precisely  the  case. 
His  father  purchased  for  him,  of  the 
rev.  Mr.  Ct)arles  Wrougbton,  then  pro* 
prietor  of  the  next  turn,  as  well  as  in- 
cumbeot,  the  next  presentation  to  the 
rectory  of  Ludgvan;  but  the  then 
grantor,  Charles  duke  of  Bolton,  ori- 
ginal proprietor  of  the  church  of  Ludg- 
van, dying  before  the  grantee,  the  pur* 
t^se  was  void,    Mr.  Wroughton  died 


soon  after  (viz.  Mar.  172 1)»  and^by 
the  application  of  his  father,  then  de- 
puty recorder  of  St.  Ives,  strengthened 
by  a  recommendation  of  sir  John  Ho« 
bart,  bart  afterwards  earl  of  Bucking- 
faam,  added  to  that  of  the  corporation 
of  St.  Ives,  W.  B.  was  presented  by 
Charles,  the  subsequent  duke  of  Bol- 
ton, to  the  rectory  of  Ludgvan.-*M^ 
account  by  Dr.  Borlase. 


&  Wood's  Ath.  ypl.  II.  Fasti* 


120  B  0  R  L  A  S  C: 

•  •         • 

binaself  as  a  pastor,  a  gentleman,  and  a  man  of  learning. 

The  duties  of  his  profession  he  discharged  with  the  most 
rigid  punctuality  and  exemplary  dignity.  He  was  esteemed 
and  respected  by  the  principal  gentry  of  Cornwall,  and 
lived  on  the  most  friendly  and  social  terms  with  those  of 
his  neighbourhood.     In  the  pursuit  of  general  knowledge 
he  was  active  and  vigorous ;  and  his  mind  being  of  an  in- 
quisitive turn,  he  could   not   survey   with  inattention  or 
indifference  the  peculiar  objects  which  his  situation  pointed 
to  his  view.     There  were  in  the  parish  of  Ludgvan  rich 
copper  works,  belonging  to  the  late  earl  of  Godolphin. 
These  abounded  with  mineral  and  metallic  fossils,  which 
Mr«  Borlase  collected  from  time  to, time;  and  his  collec- 
tion increasing  by  degrees,  he  was  encouraged  to  study 
at  large  the  natural  history  of  his  native  county.     While 
be  was  engaged  in  this  design,  he  could  not  avoid  being 
struck  with  the  numerous  monuments  of  remote  aqtiquity 
that  are  to  be  met  with  in  several  parts  of  Cornwall;  and 
which  had  hitherto  been  passed  over  with  far  less  examina- 
tion than  they  deserved.     Enlarging,  therefore,  his  plan^ 
he  determined  to  gain  as  accurate  an  acquaintance  as  pos- 
sible with  the  Druid  learning,  and  with  the  religion  and 
customs  of  the  ancient  Britons,  before  their  conversion  to 
Christianity.     To  this  undertaking  he  was  encouraged  by 
several  gentlemen  of  his  neighbourhood,  who  were  men  of 
literature  and  lovers  of  British  antiquities ;  and  particu- 
larly by  sir  John  St.  Aubyn,  ancestor  of  the  present  ba- 
ronet of  that  family,  and  the  late  rev.  Edward  Collins^ 
vicar  of  St.  Earth.     In  the  year  1748,  Mr.  Borlase,  hap- 
pening to  attend  the  ordination  of  his  eldest  son  at  Exeter, 
commenced  an  acquaintance  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles 
Lyttelton,    late  bishop  of  Carlisle,   then  come  to  be  in- 
stalled into  the  deanry,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Milles,  the  late 
dean,  two  eminent  antiquaries,  who,  in  succession,  hav^e 
so  ably  presided  over  the  society  of  antiquaries  in  London. 
Our  author's  correspondence  with  these  gentlemen  was  a 
gr^at  encouragement  to  tiie  prosecution  of  his  studies ;  and 
he  has  acknowledged  his  obligations  to  them,  in  several 
psMTts  of  his  works.     In  1750,  being  at  London,  he  was 
admitted  a  fellow  of  the  royal  society,  into  which  he  had 
been. chosen  the  year  before,  after  having  communicated 
an  ingenious  Essay  on  the  Cornish  Crystals.    Mr.  Borlase 
having  completed,  in  1753,  his  manuscript  of  the  Anti- 
quities of  Cornwaiiy^arried  it  to  Oxford,  where  he  finished 


B  O  R  L  A  S  E.  181 

the  whole  impression,  in  folio,  in  the  February  following. 
A  second  edition  of  it,  in  the  same  form,  was  published 
at  London,  in  1769.  Our  author^s  next  publication  was, 
*^  Observations  on  the  ancient  and  present  slate  of  the 
Islands  of  Scilijr,  and  their  importance  to  the  trade  of 
Great  Britain,  in  a  letter  to  the  reverend  Charles  LytteU 
ton,  LL.  D.  dean  of  Exeter,  and  F.  R.  S,'*  This  work, 
which  was  printed  likewise  at  Oxford,  and  appeared  in 
1756,  in  quarto,  was  an  extension  of  a  papeV  that  had 
been  read  before  the  royal  society,  on  the  8th  of  February 
1753,  entitled,  '^  An  Account  of  the  great  Alterations 
which  the  Islands  of  Scilly  have  undergone,  since  the  time 
of  the  ancients,  who  mention  them,  as  to  their  number, 
extent,  and  position.^'  It  was  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Lyt* 
telton,  that  this  account  was  enlarged  into  a  distinct 
treatise.  In  1757,  Mr.  Borlase  again  employed  the  Ox* 
ford  press,  in  printing  his  "  Natural  History  of  Corn- 
wall,** for  which  he  had  been  many  years  making  coUec-^ 
tions,  and  which  was  published  in  April  1758.  After  this, 
be  sent  a  variety  of  fossils,  and  remains  of  antiquity,  which 
he  had  described  in  his  works,  to  be  placed  in  the  Ash- 
molean  museum ;  and  to  the  same  repository  he  continued 
to  send  every  thing  curious  which  fell  into  his  hands* 
For  these  benefactions  he  received  the  thanks  of  the  uni« 
versity,  in  a  letter  from  the  Vice-chancellor,  dated  Novem- 
ber 18,  1758  ;  and  in  March,  1766,  that  learned^body  con* 
ferred  on  him  the  degree  of  doctor  of  laws,  by  diploma^ 
the  highest  academical  honour. 

.  Though  Dr.  Borlase,  when  h6  had  completed  his  three 
principal  works,  was  become  more  than  sixty  years  of  age, 
he  continued  to  exert  his  usual  diligence  and  vigour  in 
quiet  attention  to  his  pastoral  duty,  and  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures.  In  the  course  of  this  study,  he  drew  up  para- 
phrases  on  the  books  of  Job,  and  the  books  of  Solomon, 
and  wrote  some  other  pieces  of  a  religious  kind,  rather,  how- 
ever, for  his  private  improvement,  than  with  a  view  to  pub- 
lication* His  amusements  abroad  were,  to  superintend  the 
care  of  his  parish,  and  particularly  the  forming  and  re- 
forming of  its  roads,  which  were  more  numerous  than  in 
any  parish  of  Cornwall.  His  amusements  at  home  were  the 
belles  lettres,  and  especially  painting ;  and  the  correction 
and  enlargement  of  his  "  Antiquities  of  Cornwall,"  for  a 
second  edition,  engaged  some  part  of  his  time ;  and  when 
this  business  was  completed,  he  applied  bis  attention  to  a 


122  B  O  R  L  A  S  E. 

minute  revision  of  his  "  Natural  History."  After  thi»,  he 
prepared  for  the  press  a  treatise  he  bad  composed  some 
years  before,  concerning  the  Creation  and  Deluge.  •  But  a 
.  violent  illness,  in  January  1771,  and  the  apprehensions  of 
entangling  himself  in  so  long  and  close  an  attention  as  the 
correcting  of  the  sheets,  solely,  and  at  such  a  distance  from 
London,  would  require,  induced  him  to  drop  bis  design, 
and  to  recal  the  manuscript  from  bis  bookseller,  when  only 
a  few  pages  of  it  had  been  printed  From  the  time  of  his 
illness,  he  began  sensibly  to  decline^  the  infirmities  of  old 
age  came  fast  upon  him ;  and  it  was  visible  to  all  his  friends 
that  his  dissolution  was  approaching.  This  expected  event 
happened  on  the  31st  of  August,  1772,  in  the  77th  year  of 
bis  age,  when  he  was  lamented  as  a  kind  father,  an  affec-* 
tionate  brother,  a  sincere  friend,  an  instructive  pastor,  and 
a  man  of  erudition.  He  was  buried  within  the  communion 
rails  in  Ludgvan  church,  by  the  side  of  Mrs.  Borlase,  who 
had  been  dead  above  three  years. 

The  Doctor  had  by  his  lady  six  sons,  two  of  whom  alone 
survived  him,  the  rev.  Mr.  John  Borlase,  and  the  rev.  Mr. 
George  Borlase,  who  was  Casuistical  Professor  and  Regis- 
trar of  the  university  of  Cambridge,  and  died  in  1809. 

Besides  Dr.  Borlase's  literary  connections  with  Dr.  Lyt- 
telton  and  Dr.  Milles,  before  mentioned,  he  corresponded 
with  most  of  the  ingenious  meA  of  his  time.  He  had  a  par- 
ticular intercourse  of  this  kind  with  Mr.  Pope ;  and  there  is 
still  existing  a  large  collection  of  letters,  written  by  that 
celebrated  poet  to  our  author.  He  furnished  Mr.  Pope 
with  the  greatest  part  of  the  materials  for  forming  his  grotto 
at  Twickenham,  consisting  of  such  curious  fossils  as  the 
county  of  Cornwall  abounds  with :  and  there  might  have 
been  seen,  before  the  destruction  of  that  curiosity.  Dr. 
Borlase's  name  in  capitals,  composed  of  crystals,  in  the 
grotto.  On  this  occasion  a  very  handsome  letter  was  written 
to  the  Doctor  by  Mr.  Pope,  in  which  he  says,  "  1  am  much 
obliged  to  you  for  your  valuable  collection  of  Cornish  dia- 
monds. I  have  placed  them  where  they  may  best  represent 
yourself,  in  a  shad^e^  but  shining  ;'*'*  alluding  to  the  obscurity 
of  Dr.  Borlase's  situation,  and  the  brillianpy  of  his  talents. 
— The  papers  which  he  communicated  at  different  times 
to  the  iloyal  Society  are  numeroi^s  and  curious.  ^ 

1  Biog.  Brit,  corrected  by  a  MS.  account  written  by  himself  and  inserted  inNU 
«l^ols's  B«wyer,  vol.  V.  aud  Gent.  Ma|;.  1803. — Son's  deatb,  ibid.  1809. 


BORN.  123  • 

•    BORN  (Ignatius),  Baron^  an  eminent  mineralogist,  was 
born  of  a  noble  family  at  Carlsburg,  in  Transylvania,  Dec. 
26,   1742,     He  came  early  in  life  to  Vienna,  and  studied 
under  the  Jesuits,  who,  perceiving  his  abilities,  prevailed 
on  him  to  enter  into  their  society,  but  he  remained  a  mem- 
ber only  about  a  year  and  a  half.    He  then  went* to  Prague, 
where,  as  it  is  the  custom  in  Germany,  he  studied  law,  and 
having  cQmpleted  his  course,  made  a  tour  through  a  part 
of  Germany,  Holland,  the  Netherlands,  and  Francte,  and 
returning  to  Prague,  he  engaged  in-  the  studies  of  natural 
history,  mining,    and  their  connected  branches,  and   in 
1770,  he  was  received  into  the  department  of  the  mines 
and  mint  at  Prague.     Tlie  same  year  he  visited  the  princi- 
pal mines  of  Hungary  aftd  Transylvania,  and  during  this 
tour  kept  up  a  correspondence  with  the  celebrated  Ferber, 
who,  in  1774,  published   his  letters.     It  was  in  this  town 
also  that  he  so  nearly  lost  his  life,  and  where  he  was  struck 
with  the  disease  which  embittered  the  rest  of  his  days.     It 
appears  from  his  eighteenth  letter  to  Mr.  Ferber  that,  when 
at  Felso-Banya,  he  descended  into  a  mine,  where  fire  was 
used  to  detach  the  ore,  to  observe  the  efficacy  of  this  means, 
but  too  soon  after  the  Bre  had  been  extinguished,  and  while 
the  mine  was  full  of  arsenical  vapours  raised  by  the  heat. 
How  greatly  he  suffered  in  his  health  by  this  accident  ap-* 
pears  from  his  letter,  in  which  he  complained  that  he  could 
hardly  bear  the  motion  of  his  carriage.     After  this  he  was 
appointed  at  Prague  counsellor  of  the  mines.     In  1771,  he 
published  a  small  work  of  the  Jesuit  Poda,  on  the  machinery 
used  about  mines,  and  the  next  year  his  "  Lithophylacium 
Borueanum,''  a  catalogue  of  that  collection  of  fossils,  which 
be  afterward  disposed  of  to  the  hon.  Mr.  Greville.     This 
work  drew   on  him    the  attention  of  mineralogists,    and 
brought  him  into  correspondence  with  the  first  men  in  that 
study.     He  was  now  made  a  member  of  the  royal  societies 
of  Stockholm,  Sienna,  and  Padua;  and  in  1774,  the  same 
honour  was  conferred,  on    him  by  the   royal  society  of 

l^ondon* 

During  his  residence  in  Bohemia,  his  active  disposition 
induced  him  to  seek  for  opportunities  of  extending  know- 
ledge, and  of  being  useful  to. the  world.  He  took  a  part 
jn  the  work,  entitled  ^'  Portraits  of  the  learned  men  and 
artists  of  Bohemia  and  Moravia."  He  was  likewise  con- 
cerned in  the  "Literary  transactions,  or  Acta  Litteraria,  of 
^phemia  find  Mor^'Via,"  and  the  editor  of  the  latter  puhr 


12*  B  O  R  N. 

iicly  acknowledges  in  the  preface,  how  much  Bohemian  li- 
terature is  indebted  to  him.  Prague  and  Vienna  were 
both  without  a  public  cabinet  for  the  use  of  the  students  : 
it  was  at  bis  instigation  that  government  was  induced  to 
form  one,  which  he  assisted  by  his  contributions  and  hig 
labours.  In  1775»  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  literary  so- 
ciety, which  published  several  volumes  under  the  title  of 
^  Memoirs  of  a  private  Society  in  Bohemia."  His  fame 
reaching  the  empress  Mary  Theresa^  in  1776,  she  called 
him  to  Vienna  to  arrange  and  describe  the  Imperial  collec- 
tion, and  about  two  years  after,  he  published  the  splendid 
work  containing  tlie  Conchology :  in  the  execution  of 
which  he  had  some  assistance.  The  empress  defrayed  the 
e^^pences  for  a  certain  number  of  copies.  On  the  death  of 
this  patron  the  work  was  discontinued,  her  successor,  the 
emperor  Joseph,  not*  favouring  the  undertaking.  He  had 
likewise  the  honour  of  instructing  the  arch-duchess  Maria 
Anna  in  natural  history,  who  was  partial  to  this  entertain- 
ing study  ;  and  he  formed  and  arranged  for  her  a  neat  mu« 
seum.  In  1779,  he  was  raised  to  the  office  of  actual  coun- 
sellor of  the  court-chamber,  in  the  department  of  the 
mines  and  mint.  This  office  detained  him  constantly  in 
Vienna,  and  engaged  the  chief  part  of  his  time. 

The  consequences  of  his  misfortune  at  Felso-Banya  be- 
gan now  to  be  felt  in  the  severest  manner ;  he  was  attacked 
with  the  most  excruciating  cholics,  which  often  threatened 
a  speedy  termination  of  his  life  and  miseries.  In  this  depth 
of  torment,  he  had  recourse  to  opium,  and  a  large  portion 
of  this  being  placed  by  his  side,  which  he  wa3  ordered 
only  to  take  in  small  doses^  oti  one  occasion,  through  the 
intensity  of  his  pain,  he  swallowed  the  whole,  which 
brQught  on  a  lethargy,  of  four  and  twenty  hours ;  but  when 
he  awoke  he  was  free  of  his  pains.  The  disorder  now  at- 
tacked his  legs  and  feet,  particularly  his  right  leg,  and  in 
this  he  was  lame  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  sometimes  the 
lameness  was  accompanied  by  pain.  £iut  his  feet  by  de- 
grees withered,  and  he  was  obliged  to  sit,  or  lie,  or  lean 
upon  a  sopha ;  though  sometimes  he  was  so  well  as  to  be 
able  to  sit  upon  a  stool,  but  not  to  move  from  one  room  to 
the  other  without  assistance. 

His  free  and  active  genius  led  him  to  interest  himself  in 
all  the  occurrences  of  the  times,  and  to  take  an  active 
part  in  all  the  institutions  and  plans  which  professed  to 
enlighten  and  reform  mankind.    With  these  benevolent 


BORN.  125 

intentions  he  formed  connexions  with  the  free-masons^ 
whose  views  in  this  part  of  the  world  occasioned  the  laws 
and  regulations  made  against  masoniy  by  the  emperor  Jo- 
seph. Under  Theresa,  this  order  was  obliged  to  keep  it- 
self very  secret  in  Austria ;  but  Joseph,  on  his  coming  to 
th^  throne,  tolerated  it,  and  the  baron  founded  in  the 
Austrian  metropolis,  a  lodge  called  the  "  True  Concord,'* 
a  society  of  learned  men,  whose  lodge  was  a  place  of  ren- 
dezvous for  the  literati  of  the  capital.  The  obstacles  these 
gentlemen  found,  to  the  progress  of  science  and  use- 
ful knowledge,  had  the  tendency  to  draw  their  attention 
to  political  subjects;  and  subjects  were  really  discussed 
here  which  the  church  had  forbidden  to  be  spoken  of,  and 
to  which  the  government  was  equally  averse.  At  their 
meetings,  dissertations  on  some  subject  of  history,  ethics^ 
or  moral  philosophy,  were  read  by  the  members;  and 
commonly  something  on  the  history  of  ancient  and  modern 
mysteries  and  secret  societies.  These  were  afterward  pub- 
lished in  the  Diary  for  Free-masons,  for  the  use  of  the  ini- 
tiated,  and  not  for  public  sale. — In  the'  winter  they  met 
occasionally,  and  held  more  public  discourses,  to  which 
the  members  of  the  other  lodges  were  allowed  access.  A^ 
most  of  the  learned  of  Vienna  belonged  to  this  lodge,  it 
was  very  natural  to  suppose,  that  many  of  the  dissertations 
read  here,  were  not  quite  within  the  limits  of  the  original 
plan  of  the  society.  It  was  these  dissertations  which  gave 
rise  to  another  periodical  work,  which  was  continued  for 
some  time  by  the  baron,  and  his  brother  masons.  He  wsus 
likewise  active  in  extirpating  what  he  reckoned  supersti- 
tions of  various  kinds,  which  had  crept  into  the  other 
lodges,  and  equally  zealous  in  giving  to  these  societies 
such  an  organization,  as  might  render  them  useful  to  the 
public. 

The  baron,  and  many  others  of  his  lodge,  belonged  to 
the  society  of  the  illuminated.  This,  says  his  biographer, 
was  no  dishonour  to  him  :  the  views  of  this  order,  at  least 
at  first,  seem  to  have  been  commendable ;  they  were 
the  improvement  of  mankind,  not  the  destruction  of  so- 
ciety. Such  institutions  are  only  useful  or  dangerous,  and 
to  be  approved  of  or  condemned,  according  to  the  state  pf 
society ;  and  this  was  before  the  French  revolution,  and 
in  a  country  less  enlightened  than  almost  any  other  part  of 
Germany.  But  this  was  before  the  French  revolution  as  a 
cause  is  before  its  effect^  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  ths^t 


126  born: 

much  of  the  misery  inflicted  on  Europe  is  to  be  traced  to 
these  societies.  So  zeabus,  however,  was  the  baron  in 
favour  of  the  illuminati,  that  when  the  elector  of  Bavaria 
ordered  all  those  in  his  service  to  quit  this  order,  he  was  so 
displeased  that  he  returned  the  academy  of  Munich  the 
diploma  they  had  sent  him  on  their  receiving  him  among 
them,  pubhcly  avowed  his  attachment  to  the  order,  and 
thought  it  proper  to  break  off  all  further  connexion  with 
Bavaria,  as  a  member  of  its  literary  society.  The  free- 
masons did  not  long  retain  the  patronage  of  their  sove- 
reign :  the  emperor  Joseph  soon  became  jealous  of  their 
influence,  and  put  them  under  such  restrictions,  and  clog- 
ged them  with  such  incumbrances,  as  to  amount  almost  to 
a  prohibition ;  and  the  society  found  it  necessary  to  dis- 
solve. • 

What  raised  the  baron  more  justly  high  in  the  public 
opinion,  was  his  knowledge  of  mineralogy,  and  his  success- 
ful experiments  in  metallurgy,  and  principally  in  the  pro- 
gress of  amalgamatiop.  The  use  of  quick-silver  in  extract- 
ing the  noble  metals  from  their  ores,  was  not  a  discovery 
of  the  baron's,  nor  of  the  century  in  which  he  lived  ;  yet 
he  extended  so  far  its  application  in  metallurgy  as  to  form 
a  brilliant  epoch  in  this  most  important  art.  After  he  had 
at  great  expence  made  many  private  experiments,  and  was 
convinced  of  the  utility  of  his  method,  he  laid  before  the 
emperor  an  account  of  his  discovery,  who  gave  orders  that 
a  decisive  experiment  on  a  large  quantity  of  ore  should  be 
made  at  Schemnitz,  in  Hungary,  in  the  presence  of  Char- 
pentier  from  Saxony,  Ferber  from  Russia,  Elhujar  from 
Spain,  Poda,  and  other  celebrated  chemists,  which  met 
with  universal  approbation,  and  established  the  utility  of 
his  discovery.  In  1786,  Born  published,  at  the  desire  of 
the  emperor,  his  treatise  on  Amalgamation  ;  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  a  farther  account  of  it  was  published  by  his 
friend  Ferber.     As  a  considerable  saving  in  wood,  time,,  ] 

and  labour,  attended  his  process,  the  emperor  gave  orders 
that  it  should  be  employed  in  the  Hungarian  mines ;  and 
as  a  recompence  to  the  inventor,  a  third  of  the  sum  that 
should  be  saved  by  adopting  his  method  was  granted  to 
him  for  ten  years,  and  for  ten  years  more  the  interest  of 
that  sum.  Such,  however,  was*  the  hospitality  of  Born, 
and  his  readiness  to  admit  and  entertain  all  travellers,  and 
to  patronize  distressed  talents  of  every  kind,  that  his  ex- 
peuces  exceeded  his  income,  and  he  was  at  last  reduced  to 


BORN.  127 

^'Bt^te  of  insolvency.  Amidst  all  his  bodily  infirmities  and 
pecuniary,  embarrassments,  and  notwithstanding  the  variety 
of  his  official  avocations,  he  was  indefatigable  in  his  literary  . 
pursuits;  and  in  1790,  he  published  in  two  volumes^a 
•'  Catalogue  methodique  raisonn6,"  of  Miss  Raab^s  collec- 
tion of  fossils,  which  is  regarded  as  a  classical  work  on  that 
subject.  He  employed  himself  also  in  bleaching  wax  by  a 
new  chemical  process,,  and  in  boiling  salt  with  half  the 
(irood  <?ommonly  used  for  that  purpose.  Whilst  he  was  en- 
gaged in  writing  the  "  Fasti  Leopoldini,"  or  a  history  of 
the  reign  of  Leopold  II.  in  classical  Latin,  and  a  work  on 
Mineralogy,  his  disease  rapidly  advanced,  and  being  at- 
tended with  violent  spasms,  terminated  his  life  on  the  28th 
of  August,  179  L  His  treatise  on  Amalgamation  was  trans- 
lated into  English,  and  published  by  K.  £.  Raspe,  Lond. 
1791,  4 to,  and  his  travels  through  the  Bannat  of  Temeswar^ 
&c.  were  published  in  1787.* 

BOROUGH  (Sir  John).    See  BURROUGHS. 

BORRI  (Joseph  Francis),  a  famous  chemist,  quack, 
and  heretic,  was  a  Milanese,  and  born  in  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century.    He  finished  his  studies  in  the  se^^ 
miaary  at  Rome,  where  the  Jesuits  admired  him  as  a  pro-* 
digy  for  his  parts  and  memory.     He  iapplied  himself  to 
chemistry,  and  made  some  discoveries ;  but,  plunging  him-* 
self  into  the  most  extravagant  debaucheries,  wa»  obliged 
at  last,  in  1654,  to  take  refuge  in. a  church.     He  then  set 
up   for  a  pietist;  and,  affecting  an  appearance  of  great 
zeal,  lamented  the  corruption  of  manners  which  prevailed 
at   Rome,  saying,  that  the  distemper   was   come  to    the 
height,  and  that  the  time  pf  recovery  drew  near :  a  happy 
time,  wherein   there  would   be  but  one  sheepfold  on  the 
earth,  whereof  the  pope  was  to  be  the  only  shepherd. 
*^  Whosoever  shall  refuse,  said  he,  to  enter  into  that  sheep- 
fold,  shall  be  destroyed  by  the  pope's  armies.     God  has 
predestinated  me  to  be  the  general  of  those  armies :  I  am 
sure,  that  they  shall  want  nothing.     I  shall  quickly  finish 
my  chemical  labours  by  the  hap^y  production  of  the  phi- 
losopher's stone ;  and  by  that  means  I  shall  have  as  much 
gold  as  is  necessary  for  the  business.     I  am  sure  of  the 
;assistauce  of  the  angeb,  and  particularly  of  that  of  Michael' 
the  archangel.     When  I  began  to  walk  in  the  spiritual  life, 
I  bad  a  vision  in  the  night,  attended  with  an  angelical 

*  Townson*s  Travels  in  Hungary,  1797.  4to. 


128  B  O  R  R  L 

Toice,  which  assured  me,  that  I  should  become  a  prophet. 
The  sign  that  was  given  me  for  it  was  a  palm,  that  seemed 
to  me  surrounded  with  the  light  of  paradise.^' 

He  communicated  to  his  confidants,  in  this  manner,  the 
revelations  which  he  boasted  to  have  received :  but  after 
the  death  of  Innocent  X.  finding  that  the  new  pope  Alex- 
ander XII.  renewed  the  tribunsils,  he  despaired  of  succeed- 
ing,  left  Rome,  and  returned  to  Milan.  There  too  he 
acted  the  devotee,  and  gained  credit  with  several  people, 
wh6m  he  caused  to  perform  certain  exerc'ses,  which  car- 
ried a  wonderful  appearance  of  piety.  He  engaged  the 
members  of  his  new  congregation,  to  take  an  oath  of  se- 
crecy to  him ;  and  when  he  found  them  confirmed  in  the 
belief  of  his  extraordinary  mission,  he  prescribed  to  them 
certain  vows,  one. of  which  was  that  of  poverty;  for  the 
performance  of  which  he  very  ingeniously  caused  alf  the 
money  that  every  one  had  to  be  consigned  to  himself.  The 
design  of  this  crafty  impostor  was,  in  case  he  could  get  a 
s;ufficien|  number  of  followers,  to  appear  in  the  great 
square  of  Milan ;  there  to  represent  the  abuses  of  the 
eccleiiiastical  and  secular  government ;  to  encourage  the 
people  to  liberty ;  and  then,  possessing  himself  of  the  city 
and  country  of  Milan,  to  pursue  his  conquests.  But  hi» 
design  miscarried,  in  consequence  of  the  imprisonment  of 
some  of  his  disciples ;.  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  first  step  of 
the  inquisition,  he  fled,  on  which  they  proceeded  against  him 
for  contumacy  in  1659  and  1660;  and  he  was  condemned 
as  an  heretic,  and  burnt  in  effigy,  with  his  writings,  in  the 
field  of  Flora  at  Rome,  on  the  3d  of  January  1661.  He 
is  reported  to  have  said,  that  he.  never  was  so  cold  in  his 
life  as  on  the  day  that  he  was  burnt  at  Rome :  a  piece  of 
wit,  however,  which  has  been  ascribed  to  several  others. 
He  had  dictated  a  treatise  on  his  system  to  his  followers  : 
but  took  it  from  them  as  soon  as  he  perceived  the  motions 
of  the  inquisition,  and  hid  all  his  papers  in  a  nunnery, 
from  which  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  inquisition,  and 
were  found  to  contain  doctrines  very  absurd  and  very  im-*. 
pious. 

Borri  staid  some  time  in  the  city  of  Strasbnrgh,  to  which 
he  had  fled ;  and  where  he  found  some  assistance  and 
support,  as  well  because  he  was  persecuted  by  the  inqui- 
sition, as  because  he  was  reputed  a  great  chemist  But 
this  was  not  a  theatre  large  enough  for  Borri :  he  went 
therefore  to  Amsterdam^  where  he  appeared  in  a  stateljr 


B  O  R  R  K  121^ 

Ahd  splendid  equipage,  and  took.tipoti  him  the  title  of 
Excellency :  people  flocked  to  him,  as  to  the  physiciah 
who  could  cure  all  diseases ;  and  proposals  were  concerted 
for  marrying  him  to  great  fortunes,  &c*  But  his  reputa- 
tion began  to  sink,  as  his  impostures  became  better  under- 
stood, and  he  fled  in  the  night  from  Amsterdam,  with  a 
•great  many  jewels  and  sums  of  money,  'which  he  had  pil- 
fered. He  then  went  to  Hamburgh,  -whefe  queen  Chris- 
tina was,  and  put  himself  tinder  her*  protection  :  persuad-^* 
ing  her  to  venture  a  great  sum  of  money,  in. order  to  find 
out  the  philosopher's  stone.  Afterwards  he  w&tit  to  Co^i 
penhagen,  and  inspired  his  Danish  majesty^-  to'  search  fo^ 
the  same  secret ;  by  which  means  he  acquired  that  prince's 
favour  so  far,  as  to  become  very  odious  to  all  the  great 
persons  of  the  kingdom.  Immediately  after  the  death  of 
the  king,  whom  he  IkuI  cheated  out  of  lai*ge  sums  of  money^ 
he  left  Denmark  for  fear  of  being  imprisoned,  and  resolved 
tm  go  into  Turkey.  Being  come  to  ^e  frontiers  at  a  time 
when  the  conspiracy  of  Nadasti,  Serini,  and  Frangipatii, 
jivas  discovered,  he  was  secured,  and  his  name  sent  to  his 
Imperial  majesty,  to  see  if  he  was  one  of  the  conspirators^ 
The  pope's  nuncio,  who  happened  to  be  present,  as  soon  as 
be  heard  Borri  mentioned,  demanded,  in  the  pope's  uame^ 
that  the  prisoner  should  be  delivered  to  him.  The  em- 
peror consented  to  it,  and  ordered  that  Borri  should  b^ 
sent  to  Vienna;  and  afterwards,  having  first  obtained  from 
the  pope  a  promise  that  he  should  not  be  put  to  death,  he 
seat  him  to  Rome ;  where  he  was  tried,  and  condemned 
to  perpetual  confinement  in  the  prison  of  the  inquisition* 
He  made  abjuration  of  hi$  errors  in  the  month  of  October^ 
J  672.  Some  years  after  he  obtained  leave  to.  attend  the 
duke  d'£str6e,  whom  all  the  physicians  h^d  given  over ; 
and  the  unexpected  cure  he  wrought  upon  him  occasioned 
it  to  be  said,  that  an  arch-heretic  had  done  a  great  miracle 
in  Rome.  It  is  said  also,  that  the  queen  of  Sweden  sent 
for  him  sometimes  in  a  coach ;  but  that,  after  the  death  of 
that  princess,  he  went  no  more  abroad,  and  that  none 
could  speak  with  him  without  special  leave  from  the  pope. 
The  Utrecht  gazette,  as  Mr.  Bayle  relates,  of  the  dth  of 
September,  1695,  informed  the  public,  that  Borri  was 
lately  dead  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  being  79  years  of 
age.  It  seems  that  the  duke  d'E^tr^e,  as  a  recompence 
for  recovering  him,   had  procured  Borri' s  prison  to  be 

Vol.  VI.  K 


ISO  B  O  B  R  t 

cfaanged,  from  tihat  of  the  inqubition  to  the  castte  of  St 
Angelo. 

Some  pieces  were  printed  at  Geneva  in  1681,  which  are 
ascribed  to  him ;  as,  1.  ^*  Letters  concerning  Chemistry  ;*' 
and  2.  *^  Political  reflections."  Hie  first  of  these  works  is 
entitled,  ^'  La  chiave  del  gabinetto ;"  th^  second,  *^  Istm- 
zioni  politichi/'  We  learn  from  the  life  of  Born,  that  when 
he  was  at  Strasburg,  be  publii^ed  a  letter,  which  went  aU 
over  the  world.  Two  other  of  his  letters  are  said  to  have 
been  printed  at  Cop^hagen  in  1699,  and  inscribed  to  Bar- 
tholinus ;  one  of  them,  ^^  De  ortu  cerebri,  et  usu  medico;" 
the  other^  ^^.De  artificio  oculorum  humores  restituendi." 
The  Journal  des  Savans,  of  the  2d  of  September,  1 669, 
speaks  fully  of  these  two  letters.  Konig  ascribes  also  ano^ 
ther  piece  to  him,  entitled,  ^^  Notitia  gentis  Burrhonun." 
Sorbiere  saw.Borri  at  Amsterdam^  and  has  lefft  us^a  de^ 
scription  and  character  of  him.  He  says,  that  '^  he  was  a 
tall  black  man,  well  shaped,  who  wore  good  clotheis,  and 
spent  a  good  deal  of  money :  that  he  did  not  want  partly 
and  had  some  learning,  was  without  doubt  somewhat  skilled 
in  chemical  preparations,  had  sotne  knowledge  in  metais, 
some  methods  of  imitating  pearls  or  jewels,  and  some  pur- 
gative and  stomachic  remedies  :  but  that  he  was  a  quack, 
an  artful  impostor,,  who  practised  upon  the  credulity  of 
those  whom  he  stood  most  in  need  of ;  of  merchants,  as 
well  as  princes,  whom  he  deluded  out  of  great  sums  of 
money,  under  a  pretence  of  discovering  the  pUlosppher'n 
atone,  and  other  secrets  of  equal  importance :  and  that, 
the  better  to  carry  on  this  scheme  of  knavery,  he  had  as* 
aumed  the  mask  of  religion."  ^ 

BORRICHIUS,  or  BORCH,  a  very  learned  physician, 
son  of  a  Lutheran  minister  in  Denmark,  was  born  1626,  and 
setit  to  the  university  of  Copenhagen  in  1 644,  where  he 
remained  six  years,  during  which  time  he  applied  himself 
chiefly  to  physic.  He  taught  publicly  in  his  college,  and 
acquired  the  character  of  a  man  indefatigable  in  labour, 
and  of  excellent  morals.  He  gained  the  esteem  of  Caspar 
Brochman,  bishop  of  Zealand,  and  of  the  chancellor  of 
the  kingdom,  by  the  recommendation  of  whom  he  obtained 
the  canonry  of  Lunden.  He  was  offered  the  rectorship  of 
the  famous  school  of  Heslow,  but  refused  it,  having  formed 
a  design  of  travelling  and  perfecting  his  studies  in  physici 

1  Geo.  Diet — Mosheim's  EccJ.  Hist. — Sorbiere^  Relation  d*iin  Voyage  ed 
ADgleterre,  p.  155,  * 


B  O  R  R  I  C  H  I  U  S.  131 

He  began  to  practise  as  a  physician  duritig  a  most  terrible 
plague  in  Denmark,  and  the  contagion  being  ceased,  he 
pr*epared  for  travelling  as  he  intended  ;^  but  was  obliged  to 
•defer  it  for  some  time^  Mr,  Gerstorf,  the  first  minister  of 
state,  having  insisted  on  his  residing  in  bis  house  In  the 
fluality  of  tuto]^  to  his  ^children.     He  continued  in  this  ca- 

^ai;rity  five  years,  and  then  set  out  Upon  his  travels ;  but 
ifiifore  bis  departure,  he  was  appointed  professor  in  poetry, 
cnemistry,  and  botany.  He  left  Copenhagen  in  Novem- 
ber 16j60,  «nd,  after  having  visited  several  eminent  physi- 
cians at  Hamburgh,  went  to  Holland,  the  Low  Countries, 
to  England,  and  to  Paris,  where  he  remained  two  years. 
He  visited  also  several  other  cities  of  France,  and  at  An- 
^ars  bad  a  doctor? s  degree  in  physic  conferred  upon  him. 
He  afterwards  passed  the  Alps,  and  arrived  at  Rome  ia 
October  1665,  where  he  remained  till  March  1666,  when 
he  was  obliged  to  set  out  for  Denmark,  where  he  arrived 
in  Octobear  1666.  The  advantages  which  Borrichius  reaped 
in  his  travels  were  very  considerable,  for  he  had  made  him- 
self acquainted  with  all  the  learned  men  in  the  different 
cities  through  which  he  passed.  At  his  return  to  Denmark 
b»  resumed  his  professorship,  in  the  discharge  of  which  he 
acquired  great  reputation  for  his  assiduity  and  universal 
learning.  He  was  made  counsellor  in  the  supreme  council 
of  justice  in  1686,  and  counsellor  of  the  royal  chancery  in 
1689.  This  same  year  he  had  a  severe  attack  of  the  stone, 
and  the  pain  every  day  increasing,  he  was  obliged  to  be 
cut  for  it ;  the  operation  however  did  not  succeed,  the 
atone  being  so  big  that  it  could  not  be  extracted.  He 
bore  this  affliction  with  great  constancy  and  resolution  till 
hk  death,  which  happened  in  October  1 690. 

Borrichius  died  rich,  and  made  a  most  liberal  use  of  bis  mo« 
ney.  After  satisfying  his  relations  (who  were  all  collateral,  as 
he  bad  no  family)  with  bequests  to  the  amount  of  fifty  thou- 
sand crowns,  he  left  twenty-six  thousand  crowns  to  found 
a  college  for  poor  students,  consisting  of  a  house,  com« 
pletely  furnished  for  sixteen  students,  with  library,  che^* 
mical  laboratory,  garden,  &c.  to  be  called  the  Mediceaa 
college.  His  principal  medical  productions  consist  of  ob- 
servations published  in  the  Acta  Flaffniensia,  and  other 
similar  collections,  and  of  the  letters  sent  by  him  while  on 
his  travels,  to  F.  Bartholine,  under  whom  he  had  been 
educated.  The  letters  are  the  most  valuable  of  those  pub- 
lished by  Bar^ioline  in  bis  ''  Epistolae  Medicae }"  but  the 

K2 


,W2  B  O  R  R  I  C  H  I  U  S. 

wojks  by  whi^h  he  acquired  his  principal  celebrity,  viete 
."  De  ortu  et.progr^ssu  Chemiae,"   published  in  1668,  4ta^ 
,and  ki^  ^^  H^rot^tis  iEgyptiorum  et  Ghemicorutii  sapietitia> 
ab  H.   ConrAngio  vindicata,"  1674.     In  this  very  learned 
and  elaborate  work)  the  author  defends  the  character  of  the 
.ancient  Egyptians againat  the. strictures  of  Conringius:  at- 
trit)uting  to  tbem  fii^-  inyention  and  perfection  of  che- 
mi&try^  ^and   even,  of,  alchemy  ;    persuading  himself  that 
.among  their  secrets  they  possessed  the  art  of  transmuting 
metals.     Bq.t  eithei;  from  infaluatbn,  or  a  desire  of  victory, 
be  cite$  several  p^nps^ripts,  since  .known  to  be  spurious, 
^s  genviiji^,;a|>d.s<;xme  written  since  the  time  of  our  Saviour, 
,as  of  ipuqh  highejr  antiquity..  .  He  shews,  however,  from 
undoubted  i^^thpr.ity,  that  the  Egyptians  were  eariy  ac- 
^aioted  with  the  medical  properties  of  several  of  their. 
;p]sii)Jts3  that  they,  usod  saline,  .and  e^en  .mineral  pr&para^ 
tiot^Sj  some  of  them  prepared,  by  chemistry ;  that  incnba- 
;tionj  or  the  miel^od  pf  hatching  eggs  by  artificial  heat,  was 
first  used  by  them ;  in.  fine,  that  the  art  of  medicine,  in- 
vented by  .((leip,  passed  from  them  to  the  Grecians.     Bor<>* 
richius  was  .also  author   of  ^^  Conspectus  prssstantioruin 
.scripto^um  lingua  Latins;"  16SIB,  4to;  "  Cogitationes  de 
variis  linguapi   {^atiQ;8&  aetatibus,"  1675,  4to;     ^*  Analecta 
philolqgiciay  ,et  judicium  de  lexicis   Latinis  Graecisque," 
1682,  4to;  a^id  various  other  philological  works.' 

BORROMEO  (Charles),  an  eminent  Romish  saint  and 
cardinal,  was  born  the  2d  of  .October  1538,  of  a  good  fa* 
mily,  in, the  castle  of  Ajrona,  upon  lake  Major  in  the  MUa^* 
n€sse.  He  addicted  himself  at  an  early  period  to  retirement 
and  study.  His  maternal  uncle,  Pius  lY.  sent  for  hij»  to 
the  court  of  Rome,  made  him  cardinal  in  1 560,  and  afters- 
wards  archbishop  of  Milan.  Charles  was  then  but  22 
years  of  age,  but  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  church  with 
disinterested  zeal  and  prudence.  The  Romans  were  at 
that  time  ignorant  and  lazy :  he  therefore  formed  an  aca«^ 
demy  composed  of  ecclesiastics  and  seculars,  whom,  by  his 
.example  and  his  liberality, .  he  animated  to  study  and  to 
virtue.  Each  of  them  was  to.  write  upon  some  chosen  sub^ 
ject,  either  in  prose  or  verse,  and  to  communicate  to  each 
other  in  frequent  conferences  the  fruits  of  their  studies. 
The  works  produced  by  this  society  have  been  published  in 

1  Gen.  Diet — ^Borricbius  de  Vita  sua,  io  vol.  II.  of  Delicie  Poetarum  Dano- 
tvim,  Leydeii,  1693,'-Haller  and  Manget. — Saxii  Onomast — Reee's  Cyclopsdia. 


B  O  R  R  O  M  £  O.  Hi 


99r 


Hiany  volumes,  undex  the  title  of  ^^Noctes  Vaticanee, 
their  assemblies  being  held  in  tbe  Vatican,  and  at  night, 
after  the  business  of  the  day  was  over.  About  the  same 
time  he  also  founded  the  jcollege  at  Pavia,  which  was  dedi- 
cated to  Si;..  JufitiivsL. 

In  tbe  mean  while,  hjoweyer,  the  young  cardinal,  in  the 
midst  of  a  brilliant  court,  went  along  with  the  torrent,  fitted- 
up  grand  apartments,  furnished  them  magjnificently,  and  kept 
splendid  equipages.    His  t^ble  was  sumptuously  served ;  his^ 
house  was  never  empty  of  nobles  and  scholars.     His  uncle, 
delighted  with'' this  magnificence,  gave  him  ample  reve- 
Bues  to  support  it.     In  a  very  short  time  he  was  at  once 
grand  penitentiary  of  Rome,  archpriest  of  St.  Maiy  Major;' 
protector  of  several  crowns,  and  of  various  orders,  religioua^ 
and  military  ;  legate  of  Bologna,  of  Romania,  and  of -the 
marcbe  of  Ancona.     It  was  at  that  time  that  the  famous 
council  of  Trent  was  held^     Much  was  said  about  the  re- 
formation of  the  clergy,  and  Charles,  after  having  advised 
it  to  others,  gave  an  example  of  it  in  his  own  conduct.     He 
suddenly  discharged  no  less  than  eighty  liveiy  servants,' 
left  off  wearing  silk,  and  imposed  on  himself. a  weekly  fast* 
OB  bread  atnd  water,  .  From  this  beginning  he  soon  pro-* 
ceeded  greater  lengths.     He  held  councils  for  confirming 
the   decrees  of  that. of  Trent,  terminated  partly  by  his 
means.     He  made  his  house  into  a  seminary  of  bishops ;  he 
established  schools,  colleges,  communities;   re-modelled' 
his  clergy  and  the  monasteries;  made  institutions  for  the' 
poor  and  orphans,  and  for  girls  exposed  to  ruin,  who  were* 
desirous  to  return  to  a  regular  life.     His  zeal  was  the  ad"** 
miration  of  good  men,  but  was  far  from  acceptable  to  the« 
corrupt  clergy.     The  order  of  tbe  Humiliati,  which  he 
attempted  to  reform,  elicited  against  him  a  friar,  Fatioa,  a 
sbooking  member  of  that  society,  who  fired  a  gun  at  the 
good  man  while  he  was  at.  evening  prayer  with  his  domes* 
tics.     The  ball  having  only  grazed  his  skin,  Charles  peti- 
tioned for  the  pardon  of  his  assassin,  who  was  punished  with 
death,  notwithstaudiog  his  solicitations,  and  his  order  was 
suppressed.     These  conlxadictions  did  not  abate  the  ardour 
of  the  good  archbishop-     He  visited  the  desolate  extremi-^: 
ties  of  his  province,  abolished  the  excesses  of  the  carnival,! 
preached  to  his  people;  and  shewed  himielf  every  where  as 
their  pastor  and  father.     During  tbe  ravages  of  a  cruel - 
pestilenpe,  he  assisted  tbe  poor  in  their  spiritual  concerns 
by  his  ecclesiastics  and  bis  personal  attentions,  sold  the  fur* 


.134  JBORROMEO. 

mture  of  bfs  house  to  relieve  tfae  sick,  put  up  prdiyers  and 
made  processions,  in  wkich  he  walked  barefoot,  and  with  a 
rope  round  his  neck.  His  heroic  charity  was  repaid  with- 
ingratitude.  The  governor  of  Milan  prevailed  on  the  ma- 
gistrates of  that  city  to  prefer  complaints  against  Charl^^ 
whom  they  painted  in  the  blackest  colours.  **  They  ac- 
cused him  (says  Baillet)  of  having  exceeded  the  limits  of 
his  authority  during  the  time  of  the  plague ;  of  having  in- 
troduced dangerous  innovations ;  of  having  abolished  the 
public  games,  the  stage-plays,  and  dances;  of  having 
revived  the  abstinence  on  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent,  in  vio-' 
lation  of  the  privilege  granted  to  that  town  of  including  th&t 
day  in  the  carnival."  They  published  an  injurious  and  in- 
sulting manifesto  against  him  :  but,  contented  with  the  tes- 
timony of  his  own  conscience,  he  resigned  the  care  of  his 
justification  to  the  Almighty.  At  length,  worn  oi^t  by  the 
labours  of  an  active  piety,  he  finished  his  course  the  3d  of 
November  1 594,  being  only  in  his  47th  year.  He  was  ca- 
nonized in  1610.  He  wrote  a  very  great  number  of  works^ 
on  doctrinal  and  moral  subjects,  which  were  printed  1747 
at  Milan,  in  5  vols,  folio,  and  the  library  of  St.  Sepulchre 
in  that  city  is  in  possession  of  thirty-one  vols,  of  his  manu- 
script letters.  The  clergy  of  France  reprinted  at  their  ex- 
pence  the  Institutions  he  composed  for  the  use  of  confes- 
sors. Among  his  works  are  manyjiomilies  and  sermons^ 
as  he  thought  it  incumbent  on  him  to  preach  the  word  oiF 
God  himself  to  his  people,  notwithstanding  the  various  bu- 
siness  and  government  of  so  large  a  diocese.  The  edition 
of  ^'Acta  EcclesisB  Mediolanensis,"  Milan,  1599,  fol.  is 
much  valued. 

Upon  the  whole. St.  Charles  Borromeo  appears  entitled 
to  the  praises  bestowed  on  him.  His  piety,  however  mis^ 
taken  in  some  points,  was  sincere,  and  he  practised  with 
perfect  disinterestedness  and  true  consistency  what  he  re- 
commended to  others.  His  life  was  written  by  Austin  Va- 
lerio,  bishop  of  Verona,  Boscape,  bishop  of  Novara,  and  by 
Giussano,  a  Milanese  priest ;  but  the  best  life  of  him,  and 
the  most  free  from  superstitious  narrative^  is  that  of  the 
abb^  Touron,  <*La  Vie  et  Tesprit  de  St.  Charles  Borromeo,'* 
Paris,   1761,  Svols.  12mo.^ 

BORROMEO  (Frederic),  cousin  german  to  the  pre- 
ceding, and  also  a  cardinal  and  archbishop  of  Milan^  was 

1  Diet.  Hist. — Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints.— Touron  abridged,  Gent  Mag. 
1 769.—- Moreri.— Frobwi  Tlwatruin. 


B  0  R  R  O  M  E  O.  n$ 

^TBt  educated  under  St.  Charles^  who  aftervrards  placed 
bim  in  his  Dewly-founded  college  at  Favia.  In  ISST,  pope 
Pius  V.  made  bim  a  cardinal,  and  in  1595,  Clement  VIII. 
promoted  him  to  the  archbishopric  of  Milan.  He  died  ii| 
1632,  leaving  various  pious  works,  written  in  Italian,  the 
principal  of  which  is  '<  Sacri  Ragionamenti,''  Milan,  1632 
— 1  C4€,  4  vols,  folio,  and  "  Ragionamenti  Spirituali,'* 
ibid.  1673 — 1676  ;  **  De  Piacire  della  mente  Christiatia,*^ 
ibid.  1625.  All  his  works  are  said  to  be  scarce,  but  litera- 
ture was  most  indebted  to  him  as  the  founder  of  the  cele- 
brated Ambrosian  library  at  Milan,  which  was  enriched  in 
his  time  with  ten  thousand  manuscripts  collected  by  An-' 
tony  Oggiati,  whom  he  made  librarian,  and  by  a  large 
collection  of  books  from  the  Pinelli  library.  ^ 

BORROMINI  (Francis),  an  eminent  French  architect, 
was  born  at  Bissona  in  the  diocese  of  C6mo  in  1599,  and 
acquired  great  reputation  at  Rome,  where  he  was  more 
employed  than  any  architect  of  his  time.  A  great  num- 
ber of  his  works  are  seen  in  that  city,  but  the  major  part 
are  by  no  means  models  for  young  artists.  They  abound 
in  deviations  irom  the  received  rules,  and  other  singulari- 
ties ;  but,  at  the  s&me  time,  we  cannot  fail  of  perceiving 
in  thera  talents  of  a  superior  order,  and  strong  marks  of 
genius.  It  was  in  bis  violent  efforts  to  outdo  Bernini,  whose 
&me  he  envied,  that  he  departed  from  that  simplicity 
which  is  the  true  basis  of  the  beautiful,  in  order  to  give  ex« 
travagant  ornaments  in  that  taste;  which  have  induced  some 
4:o  compare  his  style  in  ^trchitecture  to  the  literary  style  of 
Seneca  or  MarinL  With  bis  talents,  had  he  studied  the  great 
masters  in  their  greatest  perfections,  he  would  have  been 
the  fint  architect  of  his  time,  merely  by  following  their 
track ;  but  he  unfortunately  deviated  into  the  absurdities  of 
singularity,  and  has  left  us  only  to  guess  from  the  college 
of  the  Propaganda,  and  a  few  other  buildings  at  Rome^ 
what  he  might  have  been.  Even  in  his  own  time,  his  false 
taste  was  decried,  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  mortifications 
he  met  with  brought  on  a  derangement  of  mind,  in  one  of 
the  fits  of  which  he  put  an  end  to  his  life  in  1667.  From  a 
vain  opinion  of  his  superiority,  he  is  said  to  have  destroyed 
all  bis  designs,  before  his  death,  lest  any  other  architect 
should  adopt  them.  There  was  published,  however,  in 
1725,  at  Rome,  in  Italian  and  Latin,  his  **  Description  of 

^  Moreri. — Le  GaUois  TraU4,des  plus  belles  Bibliotheques de PEurope,  1685, 
12ffio.— Morboff  Polybist.— Saxii  Ooonusticoo.— Freberi  Tbeatrum. 


ISA  B ..p  n  R  X>  M  I  N  I. 


*  ^    i 


the  church  .pf  VaUicela,''  which '  he  b^iilt,  with  the  plaiii 
and  desigifs^jand  9.  piaa  of  the  church  of  Sapienza,  at 
Rome. ' 

BORSETTI,.    See  CORNAZZANO. 

I  1^0  S  (j£ROM£)y  an  artist  of  singular  taste,  was  bom  a^ 
Bois-le'Duc.  -  lie  seemed  to  have  a  peculiar  pleasure  iu. 
paip ting  spectres,  devils^  and  enchantments :  and  although 
he  possessed  considerable  powers  as  a  painter,  both  in  free- 
dom of  touch  and  strength  of  colouring,  his  pictures  camber 
excite  a  horror  mixed  with  admiration  than  any  degree  of 
real  delight.     Among  the  singular  objects  which  he  chose, 
there  is, one  which  represents  the  Saviour  delivering  the  Pa* 
triarchs  from  hell.     The  fire  and  flames  are  painted*  with 
great  truth.     Judas  in  the  atteippt  of  slyly  escaping  with  the^ 
Saints,  is  seized  in  the  neck  by  the  devils,  who  are  going 
to  hang  him  up  in  the  air.     A  most  remarkable  painting  of' 
this  master's  hand,  among  several  others  in  the  Escurial,  is 
an  allegory  of  the  pleasures  of  the  flesh:  in  which  he. repre- 
sents the  principal  figure  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  monstrous^ 
imaginary  forms,  pieceded  by  demons,  and  followed  by 
death.     As  to  his  manner,  it  was. less  stiff. than  that  of  most 
of  the  pointers  of  his  time ;  and  his  draperies  were  in  a  bet<« 
ter  taste,  tnore  simple,  and  with  less  sameness,  than  any 
of  his  contemporaries.     He  painted  on  a  white  ground, 
which  he  so  managed  as  to  give  a  degree  of  transparent^ 
to  his  colours,  and  the  appearance  of  more  warmth.     He 
laid  on  his  colours  lightly,  and  so  placed  them,  even  a.t  the 
first  touch  of  bis  pencil,  as  to  give  them  their  proper  ef-; 
feet,  without  disturbing  them :  and  hi«  touch  was  full  of. 
spirit.     Bos  was  also  an  engraver,  and,  as  Strutt  thinks, 
the  first  artist  who  attempted  to  engrave  in  the  grotesque 
style.     His  engra^vings  have  that  stiffness  which  so  strongly 
characterises  the  works  of  the  early  German  masters,  and 
prove  that  he  possessed  a  great  fertility  of  invention,  thougl^ 
perhaps  but  little  judgment.     He  died  in  1500,* 
;  BOS  (Lambert),    a  learned   philologist,  was^  boirn  at 
Worcum   in   Friesland,  Nov.  23,    1670.     His  father  who 
was  rector  or  principal  regent  of  the  schools,,  and  accusr 
tomed  to  mark  the  early  appearance  of  talents,  soon  dis- 
covered his  son's  aptitude  for  lei^rning,  land  taught  him 
Greek  and  Latin.     His  mother,  a  woman  of  ahiht^es^iand. 
aunt  to  yitringa,  when  she  saw  the  l£^tter,.  tfien  ft  very^ 

»  Di«t.  Histi-rD'Argenvillc.  2  Pilkington  aad  Strutt. 


^^^. 


BOS.  m 

young  many  advanced  to  the  professorship  of  Oriental  Ian* 
guages,  exclaimed  with  maternal  fondness  that  she  hoped 
to  see  her  son  promoted  to  a  similar  rank.     In  this,  how-< 
ever,    she  was  not  gratified,  as  she  died   before   he  had 
fiDished  his  studies.     When  he  had  gone  through  tlie  ordi* 
nary  course  of  the  classes  in  his  father^ s  school,  he  conti- 
nued adding  to  his  knowledge  by  an  attentive  perusal  of  the 
Greek  and  Latin  authors,  and  had  many  opportunities  for 
this  while  he  lived  with  a  man  of  rank,  as  private  tutor  to 
bis  children.     Cicero,  above  all,  was  his  favourite  Latin 
author,  whom  he  read  again  and  again.     In  1694  he  went 
to  the  university  of  Franeker,  where  his  relation,  Vitringa, 
encouraged  him  to  pursue  the  Greek  and  Latin  studies^  to 
which  he  seemed  so  much  attached.     In  October  1696  he 
waS'  permitted  to  teach  Greek  in  the  university,  and  in  Fe-. 
bruary  of  the  following  year,  the  curators  honoured  him, 
with  the  title  of  prelector  in  that  language.     In  1 704,  when. 
the  Qreek  professorship  became  vacant  by  the  death  of 
Blancard,   Mr.  Bos  was  appointed  his  successor,  and  on 
taking  the  chair,  read  a  dissertation  on  the  propagation  of 
Greek  learning  by  their  colonies,  ^^  de  eruditione  GraBCO* 
»im  per  Colonias  eorum  propagata."     About  the  end  of 
1716  he  was  attacked  with  a  malignant  fever,  ending  in  a 
consumption,  a  disorder  he   inherited  from  his   mother, 
which  termipated  his  life  Jan.  6,  1717.     Bos  was  a  man  of 
extensive  classical  learning,  a  solid  judgment,  and  strong 
memory..    In  his  personal  character  he  was  candid,  amia- 
ble, and  pious  ;  in  his  studies  so  indefatigable  that  he  re-, 
gretted  every  moment  that  was  not  employed  in  them. 
About  five  years  before  his  death  he  married  the  widow  of 
a  clergyman,  by  whom  he  left  two  sons. 

I}43  published,  1 .  ^^  Exercitationes  Philologicas,  in  quibus 
Kovi  Foederis  nonnuUa  loca  e  profanis  maxim^  auctoribus 
Graecis  illustrantur,"  Franeker,   1700,   8vo;  and  in    1713. 
much  enlarged,  particularly  with  an  ingenious  etymplogi** 
cal  dissertation,  on  which,-  as  well  as  on  the  work  itself,  Le 
Clerc  bestows  high  praise  in  his  "  Bibliotheque  Choisie,'* 
vol.  XV.  and  his  "  Bibl.  Anc.  et  Moderne,"  vol.  II.  2. "  Mys- 
terii    ElUpsios  Graecai  expositi    Specimen,"    ibid,    1702, 
12mo.     There  have  been  many  editions  of  this  useful  work 
to   Greek  students.     3.  ^^  Observationes   Miscellanea^   ad 
Ipcaqusdam  cum  Novi  Foederis,  turn  externonim  Scripto- 
rum  GraBCorum,"  ibid.  1707,  8 vo.     4.  An  edition  of  the 
Septuagint/*^  1709,  2- vols.  4to,  with  Prolegomena,  &c. 


it 


118  BOS. 

which  Breitingcr,  who  published  another  edition  in  1730— 
1732,  has  criticised  with  considerable  severity  in  the  "Jour* 
Hal  Litteraire/'  vol.  XVIII.  which  the  reader  may  compare 
with  what  is  said  of  Breitinger^s  edition  in  vol.  XI.  of  the 
**  Bibliotheque  Raisonn6e."    5.  •*  Antiquitatum  GraBcamm, 
prsecipue  Atticarum,  brevis  Description'  Franeker,   1713, 
]2mo.     Of  this  there  have  been  several  editions,  as  it  be- 
came a  school  book.    That  of  Leisner,  at  Paris,  1769,  was 
in  1772  translated  into  English  by  our  countryman,  the  late 
rev.  Percival  Stockdale,  and  published  in  octavo,  in  hopes 
that  it  might  supply  young  scholars  with  a  manual  more 
useful  than  Pottef  s  Antiquities,  but  it  did  not  answer  the 
translator's  expectations  in  this  respect.     6.  **  Animadver- 
siones  ad  Scriptores  quosdam  Grsccos.    Accedit  specimen 
animadversionum  Latinarum,"  Franeker,  1715,  8vo.    The 
same  year  he  published  a  new  edition  of  Weller's  Greek 
Grammar,  adding  two  chapters  on  accentuation  and  syn- 
tax, shorter  and  more  methodical  than  those  of  Weller. 
F.  H.  Schoefer  published  a  variorum  edition  of  his  **  Ellip- 
ses," in   1809,  Leipsic.     Saxius  only,  of  all  his  biogra- 
phers, notices  a  work  by  Bos  which  appears  to  have  been 
his  first,  "  Thomae  Magistri  Dictionum  Atticarum  Ecloga,** 
Franeker,  1698,  8vo.* 

BOS  (Lewis  Janssen,  or  John  Lewis),  an  artist,  was 
bom  at  Bois-le-Duc,  and  having  been  carefiilly  instructed 
in  the  art  of  painting  by  the  artists  of  his  native  city,  he 
apphed  himself  entirely  to  study  after  nature,  and  ren- 
dered himself  very  eminent  for  truth  of  colouring  and 
neatness  of  handling.  His  favourite  subjects  were  flowers 
and  curious  plants,  which  he  usually  represented  as 
grouped  in  glasses,  or  vases  of  chrystal,  half  filled  with 
water,  and  gave  them  so  lively  a  look  of  nature,  that  it 
seemed  scarcely  possible  to  express  them  with  greater 
truth  or  delicacy.  In  representing  the  drops  of  dew  on 
the  leaves  of  his  subjects,  he  executed  them  with  uncom- 
mon tninsparence,  and  embellished  his  subjects  with  but- 
terflies, bees^  wasps,  and  other  insects,  which,  Sandrart 
says,  were  superior  to  any  thing  6f  that  kind  performed  ^^by 
his  contemporary  artists.  He  likewise  painted  portraits 
with  very  great  success.  • 

BOSC   (Claude  du),   an  engraver,  was  a  native  of 
France,  and  being  invited  to  England  by  Nicholas  Do- 

'  Chaufepie  Noaveau  Diet,  vol.  IL<— Fabric.  Bibl.  Ci3»c,— ^SaxiiOoomast. 
P  PilkiD^ton.     ^ 


I  • 


B  O  S  C.  19^ 

ngny,  assisted  bim  for  some  time  in  engraving  tbe  car* 
tooas  of  Raphael ;  ^nd  afterwards  separating  from  Dorigny, 
he  undertook  to  engrave  the  cartoons  for  tbe  printseliers. 
He  also  engraved  the  duke  of  Marlborough's  battles^  for 
which  be  received  80/.  per  plate ;  and,  assisted  first  by 
Du  Guernier,  and  afterwards  by  Beauvais  and  Barofi,  he 
completed  them  within  two  years,  in  1717.  He  then  be- 
ca^ne  a  printseller,  and  published,  by  subscription,  the 
translation  of  Picart's  Religious  Ceremonies.  As  an  en- 
graver, he  possessed  no  great  merit:  his  style  is  coarse 
and  heavy,  and  the  drawing  of  the  naked  parts  of  the 
figure  in  his  plates  is  very  defective.  The  **  Continence 
of  Scipio,^'  from  a  picture  of  Nicholas  Poussin,  in  the 
Houghton  collection,  is  one  of  his  plates.  He  flourished 
in  1714.* 

BOSC  (P£TER  DU),  a  French  minister,  and  the  greatest 
preacher  in  his  time  among  the  protest  ants,  was  son  of 
William  du  Bosc,  advocate  to  the  parliament  of  Roan,  and 
born  at  Bayeux,  February  21,  1623.  He  made  such  pro- 
gress, after  having  studied  divinity  eighteen  months  at 
Montauban,  and  three  years  at  Saumur,  that  although  he 
i^as  but  in  his  three  and  twentieth  year,  he  was  qualified  to 
serve  the  church  of  Caen,  to  which  he  was  presented  Nor. 
15,  1645,  and  received  the  imposition  of  hands  Dec.  17^ 
the  same  year.  The  merit  of  his  colleagues,  and  above  all 
that  of  Mr.  Bochart,  did  not  hinder  Mr.  du  Bosc  from  ac* 
quiring  speedily  the  reputation  of  one  of  the  first*  men  of 
his  function ;  and  his  eloquence  became  so  famous 
throughout  tbe  whole  kingdom,  that  the  church  of  Cha- 
reofton  would  have  him  for  their  minister,  and  sent  to  de* 
sine  him  of  his  churchy  in  the  beginning  of  1656..  The 
strongest  solicitations  were  made  use  of;  but  neither  the 
eloquence  of  the  deputies  of  Paris,  uor  the  letters  of  per* 
sons  of  the  greatest  eminence  in  France  amongst  t^e  pro- 
testants,  could  engage  the  church  of  Caen  to  part  with 
him,  nor  him  to  quit  his  flock.  It  was  impossible  that  such 
talents  and  fame  should  not  give  umbrage  to  the  enemies 
of  the  protestant  religion,  which  tbey  shewed  in  1664,  by 
procuring  a  Uttre  de  cachet,  which  banished  him  from  Cha- 
lons till  a  new  order,  for  having  spoke  disrespectfully  of 
auricular  confession.  Mr.  du  Bosc,  as  he  passed  through 
Paris  to  go  to  the  place  of  his  banishment,  eKplained  to 

}  Strutt — Walpole's  EngraTen* 


140  BOS  C. 

Mr.  le  Tellier  his  opinion  on  confession,  and  in  wnat 
ner  be  liad  spoken  of  it,  with  which  Le  Telii^r  was  satis^* 
fied,  and  told  him  that  he  had  never  doubted  of  the  false* 
Bess  of  the  accusation.  Mr.  du  fiosc  recovered  the  liberty 
of  returning  to  his  church  October  15,  1664,  and  the  joy 
which  was  at  Caen  among  the  brethren^  when  he  caoae 
there,  November  8,  was  excessive.  A  great  many  honbur**' 
able  persons  of  the  other  party  congratulated  him  ;  and' 
there  was  a  catholic  gentleman  who  celebrated  the  event 
in  a  velry  singular  manner,  as  thus  related  by  Du  Bosc^s 
biographer.  ^*  A  gentleman  of  the  Roman  religion,  of 
distinction  in  the  province,  whose  life  was  not  very  regu<* 
lar,  but  who  made  open  profession  of  loving  the  pastors* 
who  bad  particular  talents,  and  seemed  particularly  ena- 
moured with  the  merit  of  Mr.  du  Bosc,  having  a  mind  to- 
solemnize  the  feast  with  a  debauch,  took  two  Cordeliers 
whom  he  knew  to  be  honest  fellows,  and  made  them  drink 
so  much,  that  one  of  them  died  on  the  spot.  He  went  to 
see  Mr*  du  Bosc  the  next  day,  and  told  him  that  he  thoug^ht 
himself  obliged  to  sacrifice  a  monk  to  the  public  joy  ;  that 
the  sacrifice  would  have  been  more  reasonable,  if  it  had 
been  a  Jesuit;  but  that  his  o6fering  ought  not  to  displease' 
him,  though  it  was  but  of  a  Cordelier.  This  tragical  ac- 
cident, of  which  he  was  only  the  innocent  occasion,  did 
not  fail  to  disturb  the  joy  which  he  had  upon  seeing  him« 
self  again  in  his  family  and  amongst  his  flock."  During 
the  prosecutions  of  the  protestant  churches  in  1665,  he 
defended  that  of  Caen,  and  many  others  of  the  province^ 
against  the  measures  of  the  bishop  of  Bayeux,  The  king 
having  published  in  1666  a  severe  proclamation  against 
the  prQtc:  tants,  all  the  churches  sent  deputies  to  Paris  to 
make  humble  remonstrances  to  his  majesty.  The  churches 
of  Normandy  deputed  Mr.  du  Bosc,  who  departed  from 
Caen  July  3,  16bS,  As  soon  as  he  was  arrived  at  Pari«^ 
the  other  deputies  chose  him  to  draw  up  several  menK>Irs«- 
It  being  reported  that  the  king  would  suppress  some  cham- 
bers of  the  edict,  all  tije  deputies  ran  to  Mr.  de  Ruvigrni, 
the  deputy  general,  to  speak  with  him  about  so  important 
an  atfa;r,  m  hopes  of  procuring  leave  to  throw  themselves 
at  his  majesty's  leei ;  but  Mr.  du  Bosc  only  was  admitted 
to  the  audience.  He  harangued  the  king,  who  was  alone 
in  his  clo.SLt,  November  27,  1668 ;  and  after  having  ended 
his  discourse,  he  had  the  courage  to  represent  several 
things,  and  succeeded  so  well  as  to  make  all  the  court 


3  O  S  C.  141 

speak  of  bis  eloquence  and  prudence.  After  several  con« 
fereoces  with  Mr.  le  Tellier,  and  many  evasions  and  delays, 
in  April  1669,  he  obtained  some  relaxation  of  the  declara- 
tion of  166'6.  After  that  time  Mr.  du  Bosc  went  several 
journies  about  the  churches'  affairs^  and  supported  them 
before  the  ministers  of  state  and  the  iutendants,  with 
great  force  and  ability,  until  he  was  commanded  himself^ 
by  aix  act  of  the  parliament  of  Normandy  Jane  6,  1685, 
•not , to  exercise  his  ministry  any  more  in  the  kingdom*  It 
was,  however,  universally  acknowledged,  that  if  it  had 
beeii  possible  to  preserve  the  reformed  church  of' France 
by  the  means  of  negotiation,  he  was  more  likely  to  suc- 
ceed than  any  one  that  could  bei  employed.  He  retired 
into  Holland  after  his:  interdiction,  and  was  minister  of 
the  church  of  Rotterdam,  until  his  death,  which  happened 
January  2,  1692,  He  published  some  volumes  of  ser- 
mons ;  and  after  hi^  dc^th,  P.  Le  Gendre,  his  soh-^in4aw,' 
published  his  "  Life, .  Letters,  Poems,  Orations,  IHsser- 
tatjions,*'  and  qtbier  cprious  documents  respecting  the  his- 
tory of  the  reforipoed  churches  iu;  his  time,  Rotterdam, 
1694,  8vo,  dedicated  to  lord  viscount  Galloway.^. 

BOSCAN(JoHN  Almogaver),  a  Spanish  poet,  of  a 
noble  family,  was  born  at  Barcelona,  about  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  is  supposed  to  have  died  about  1543« 
He  was  bred  to  arms,  and,  having  served  with  distinction, 
was  afterwards  a  great  traveller.  From  the  few  accounts 
we  have  of  him,  as  well  as  from  what  appears  in  bis  work$, 
he  seems  to  have  been  a  very  good  classical  scholar ;  and 
be  is  said  to  have  bee^n  highly  successful  in  the  education 
of  Ferdinand,  the  great  duke  of  Alba,  whose  singular  qua- 
lities were  probably  the  fruit  of  our  poet's  attention  to  himr 
He  married  Donna  Anna  Giron  di  JleboUedo,  an  amiable 
woman,  of  a  noble  family,  by, whom  he  had  a  very  nume- 
rous offsprii^g.  Garcilaso  was  his  coadjutor  in  his  poetical 
labours,  and  their  works  were  published  together,  under 
the  title  ^^Obras  de  Boscan  y  Garcilaso,"  Medina,  1544, 
4to,  and  at  Venice,  1553,  12mo.  The  principal  debt 
which  Spanish  poetry  owes  to  Boscan,  is  the  introduction 
of  the  bendecasyllable  verse,  to  which  it  owes  its  true 
grace  and  elevation.  His  works  are  divided  into'  three 
books,  the  first  of  which  contains  his  poetry  in  the  redon- 
^iglia  metre,  and  the  other  two  his  hendecasyllables.     In 

1  Qtn.  Diet— Le  Qendre'a  Life,  at  supra. 


Ut  B  O  S  C  A  N. 

these  he  seems  to  have  made  the  Italian  poet^  his  inodeId> 
imitating  Petrarch  in  bis  sonnets  and  canzoni ;  Dante  and 
Petrarch  in  his  terzine ;  Politian,  Ariosto,  and  Bembo,  in 
bis  ottaye  rime ;  and  Bernardo  Tasso,  tHe  father  of  Tor- 
quato,  in  his  versi  sciotti.  It  is  said  be  also  translated  a 
play  of  Euripides,  which  is  lost ;  but  he  has  left  us  a  prose 
iranslation,  no  less  admirable  than  his  poetry,  of  the  fa* 
mous  II  Gortegiano,  or  the  Courtier  of  Castiglione.  M. 
Conti,  in  his  "« Collecion  de  Poesias,  &c."  or  collection  of 
Spanish  poems  translated  into  Italian  verse,  has  grren  as 
specimens  of  Boscan,  tvro  canzoni,  six  sonnets,  and  a 
iamiliar  epistle, to  Don  Hurtado  de  Mendoza.  * 

BOSCAWEN  (Right  Hon.  Edward),  a  brave  English 
admiral,  the  second  son  of  Hugh,  lord  viscount  Falmouth, 
was  born  in  1711,  and  having  early  embraced  the  naval 
service^  arose,  through  the  usual  gradations,  to  be  captain 
of  the  Shoreham  of  20  gtins^  in  1740,  and  distinguished 
himself  as  a  volunteer  under  admiral  Vernon,  in  Novem- 
ber, at  the  taking  and  destroying  the  fortifications  of  Porto 
Bello.  At  the  siege  of  Carthagena  in  March  1741,  he 
had  the  command  of  a  party  of  seamen,  who  resolutely 
attacked  and  took  a  fascine  battery  of  fifteen  twenty-four 
pounders,  though  exposed  to  the  fire  of  another  fort  of 
five  guns,  which  they  knew  nothing  of.  Lord  Aubrey 
Beauclerk  bei/ig  kiiled[  March  24,  at  the  attack  of  Boca- 
chica,  capt.  Boscawen  succeeded  him  in  the  command  of 
the  Prince  Frederic  of  70  guns  ;  and  on  thte  surrender  of 
that  qastle,  was  entrusted  with  the  care  of  its  demolition. 

In  December  following,  after  his  return  home^  he  mar- 
ried Frances,  daughter  of  William  Glanville,  esq.  of  St. 
Clere  in  Kent ;  and  the  same  year  was  elected  member  of 
parliament  for  Truro  in  Cornwall.  In  1744,  he  was  made 
captain  of  the  Dreadnought  of  sixty  guns,  and  on  the  29th 
of  April,  soon  after  war  had  been  declared  against  France, 
he  took  the  Medea,  a  French  man  of  war  of  2 6*  guns  and 
240  men,  commanded  by  M.  Hoquart,  being  the  first 
king^s  ship  taken  that  war.  In  January  1745,  he  was  one 
of  the  court-t martial  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  conduct 
of  capt.  Mostyn :  and,  during  the  rebellion,  an  invasion 
being  apprehended,  he  commanded  as  commodore  on 
board  the  Royal  Sovereign  at  the  Nore,  whence  he  sent  ^ 

>  Antotuo  Bibl.  flisp,— BaiUet  Jugemens  des  Savans.-^Maty^s  Reylew,  vol. 
V.  ^.  I,  *^ 


3  O  S  C  A  W  E  N.  14S 

away  several  of  the  nevr^pressed  men  that  were  brought  to 
hitOy  in  company  with  some  e^cpeiienced  seameiiy  ia  fri<- 
gates  and  small  vi^ssels,  to  the*  mouths  of  many  of  the 
creeks  and  rivers  oh  the  coasts, of. Kent  and  Sussex,  to 
guard  in  those  partsu 

In  November  1746,  being,  then  captain  of.  the  Namur^ 
of  seventy-four  guns,  he  chased  into  admiral  A  nson^$  fleet 
the  Mercury^  formerly  a  French  ship  of  war,  of  fifty-eight 
gnns^  bat  then  serving  as  an  hospital  ship  to  M.  d'AnviUe's 
«^uadron.  On  May  3,  1747,  he  signalized  himself  under 
jthe  admirals  Anson  audWarcen,  in  An  engagement  with  a 
French  fleet  off  Cape  Finisterre,  aud  was  wounded  in  the 
shoalder  by  a  musquet^ball.  Here  M.  Qoquart,  jthen  com- 
mandiug  the  Diamant  of  flfty-six  guns,  again  became  his 
prisoner,  and  all  the  French  ships  of  war^  ten  in  number, 
were  taken.  In  July  of  the  same  year^  he  was  appointed 
rear-admiral  of  the  blue,  and  commander  in  x;bief  of  the 
land  and  sea-forces  employed  on  an ;  expedition  to  the 
East  Indies.  Nov.  4,.  he  sailed  from  St«  Heleu's,  with  six 
ahips  of  the  line,<  five  frigates,  and  two  thousand  soldiers: 
and  though  the  wind  soon  proved  contrary,  .the  admiral 
was  so  anxious  of  clearing  the  channel,  jtfaat  he  rather 
chose  to  tmrn  to  the  wmdward  than  put  back.  After  re^^ 
freshing  his  men  some  weeks  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  where  he  arrived  March  29,.  1748,  he  made  the 
island  of  Mauritius,  belonging  to  the  French,  on  June  2S. 
Biit  on  reconnoitering  the  landiiig  .place,  and  finding  it 
impracticable,  without  great  loss,  it  was  determined  by  a 
council  of  war,  to  proceed  on  the  voyage,  that  not  being 
the  principal  design  of  the  expedition.  July  29,  he  ar- 
rived at  Fort  St  David's,  where  the  siege  of  Pondicherry 
being  ijonunediately  resolved  on,  the  admiral  took  the  com«- 
mand  of  the  army,  and  marched  with  them,  August  8th, 
and  on  the  27th  opened  trenches  before  the  town  :  but  the 
men  growing  sickly,  the  monsoons  being  expected,  the 
chief  engineer  killed,  and  the  enemy  being  stronger  ia 
garrison  than  the  besiegers,^  the  siege  was  raised  Oct  6th, 
and  in  two  days  the  army  reached  for  St.  David's,  Mr* 
Boscawen  shewing  himself,  in  the  retreat  as  much  the  ge«* 
neral  as  the  admiral.  Soon  after  the  peace  was  concluded, 
and  Madras  delivered  up  to  him  by  the  French. 

«In  April  1749,  he  lost  in  a  violent  storm  his  own  ship 
the  Namur,  and  two  more^  but  was  himself  providentially 
op  shore.     In  April  1750  he  arrived  at  St  Helen's,  in  the 


144  B  O  S  C  A  W  E  N. 

Exeter^  having,  in  his  absence,  been  appointed  reair^ad* 
miral  of  the  white.  In  June  1751,  he  was  appointed  one 
of  the  lords  commissioners  of  the  admiralty,  and  in  July 
was  chosen  an  elder  brother  of  the  Trinity-house.  In  May 
1754,  he  was  re-elected  for  the  borough  of  Truro. 

In  February  1755  he  was  appointed  vice-admiral  of  the 
blue,  and  on  April  19,  he  sailed  from  Spithead  with  a 
strong  fleet,  in  order  to  intercept  the  French  squadroik 
bound  to  North  America.  June  lOtb,  he  fell  in,  off  New- 
foundland, with  the  Alcide  and  Lys,  of  sixty-four  guns 
^each,  which  were  both  taken  by  the  Dunkirk  and  Defiance, 
being  the  first  action  of  that  war.  On  thh  occasion,  it  was 
very  extraordinary,,  that  M.  Hoquart  became  a  third  time 
his  prisoner.  In  November,  the  admiral  arrived  at  Spit* 
.head  with  his  prizes,  and  fifteen  hundred  prisoners.  In 
1756  he  commanded  the  squadron  in  the  Bay;  and  in 
December  was  appointed  vice-admiral  of  the  white.  In 
'  1757  he  again  commanded  in  the  Bay;  and  in  1758  was 
appointed  admiral  of  the  blue,  and  commander  in  chief  of 
the  expedition  to  Cape  Breton.  ^  Feb.  1 5,  he  sailed  from 
St.  Helen's,  and  in  conjunction  with  general  (afterwards 
lord)  Amherst,  took  the  important  fortress  of  Louisburgb> 
July  27th,  with  die  islands  of  Cape  Breton  and  St.  John. 
.On  Nov.  1st.  the  admiial  arrived  at  St.  Helen's  with  four 
ships,  having  fallen  in,  off  Scilly,  with  six  French  ships 
from  Quebec,  which  escaped  him  in  the  night;  but  in 
chacing  one  of  them,  tliB  Belliqueux  of  sixty-four  guns, 
having  carried  away  her  fore  top-mast,  was  forced  up 
Bristol  Channel,  where  she  was  taken  by  the  Antelope. 
December  1 2th,  on  his  coming  to  the  house  of  commons, 
the  thanks  of  that  august  assembly,  the  greatest  honour 
that  can  be  conferred  on  any  subject,  were  given  him  by 
the  speaker. 

In  some  French  memoirs,  admiral  Boscawen  is  repre- 
sented as  havings  at  the  siege  of  Louisburgfa,  wholly  gives 
himself  up  to  the  direction  of  a  particular  captain  in  that 
arduous  and  enterprising  business.  This,  however,  was 
not  the  case.  Whoever  knew  Mr.  Boscawen's  knowledge 
in  his  profession,  with  his  powers  of  resource  upon  every 
occasion,  his  intrepidity  of  mind,  his  manliness  and  inde- 
pendence of  conduct  and  of  character,  can  never  give  the 
least  degree  of  credit  to  such  an  assertion.  The  admiral, 
however,  upon  other  occasions,  and  in  other  circumstancest 
deferred  to  the  opinions  of  those  with  whom  be  was  pror 


B  O  S  C  A  W  E  N.  14$ 

fessioDally  connected.  When  once  sent  to  intercept  n 
St.  Domingo  fleet  of  merchantmen,  and  while  waiting  near 
the  track  which  it  was  supposed  tjhey  would  take,  one  of 
his  seamen  came  to  tell  him  that  the  fleet  was  now  in  sight 
The  admiral  took  his  glass,  and  from  his  superior  power  of 
eye,  or  perhaps  from  previous  information,  said,  that  the 
sailpr  was  mistaken,  and  that  what  he  saw  was  the  grand 
French  fleet.  The  seaman,  however,  persisted.  The  ad* 
miral  desired  some  others  of  his  crew  to  look  through  the 
glass ;  who  all,  with  their  hrains  heated  with  the  prospect 
of  a  prize,  declared,  that  what  they  saw  was  the  St.  Do« 
mingo  fleet.  He  nobly  replied,  "  Gentlemen,  you  sliall 
never  say  that  I  have  stood  in  the  way  of  your  enriching 
yourselves :  I  submit  to  you ;  but,  remember,  when  you 
find  your  mistake,  you  must  stand  by  me.''  The  mistake 
was  soon  discovered  ;  and  the  admiral,  by  such  an  exertioa 
of  manoeuvres  as  the  service  has  not  often  seen,  saved  his 
ship. 

In  1759,  being  appointed  to  conmiand  in  the  Mediter* 
ranean,  he  sailed  from  St.  Helen's  April  14th.  TheTou* 
lon  fleet,  under  M.  de  la  Clue,  having  passed  the  Streights, 
with  an  intent  to  join  that  at  Brest,  the  admiral,  then  at 
Gibraltar,  being  informed*of  it  by  his  frigates,  immediately 
got  under  sail,  and  on  Aug.  13th,  discovered,  pursued^ 
and  engaged  the  enemy,  His  ship,  the  Namur,  of  ninety 
guns,  having  lost  her  mainmast,  he  instantly  shifted  his 
flag  to  the  Newark,  and,  after  a  sharp  engagement,  took 
three  large  ships,  and  burnt  two,  in  Lagos-bay.  On  Sept» 
15th  he  arrived  at  Spithead  with  his  prizes,  and  two  thou-r 
sand  prisoners.  In  December  of  the  following  year,  he  was 
appointed  general  of  the  marines,  widi  a  salary  of  3000^ 
per  annum,  and  was  also  sworn  of  his  majesty's  most  ho- 
pourable  privy-council.  In  the  same  year  he  commanded 
in  the  Bay,  till  relieved  by  admiral  Hawke :  and,  returning 
home,  died  at  his  seat  at  Hatchland  park,  near  Guildford^ 
of  a  bilious  fever,  Jan.  10,  1761.  A  monument  was  after* 
wards  erected  to  him  in  the  church  of  St.  Michael  Pett-» 
kevel  in  Cornwall,  where  he  was  buried,,  with  an  elegai;it 
inscription  said  to  have  been  written  by  his  widow. 

This  excellent  officer  was  so  anxious  for  the  honour  of 
the  sea-service,  and  his  own,  that  when  lord  Anson,  tbea 
first  lord  of  the  admiralty,  refused  to  confirm  his  promo- 
tion of  two  naval  officers  to  the  rank  of  post-captains,  in 
consequence  of  their  having  distinguished  themselves  at 
Voi.  VI.  L 


^4«  B  O  S  C  A  W  E  N. 

4he  siege  of  Louisburgh  (Laforey  and  Balfour,  if  we  itiis- 
take  not),  be  threatened  to  give  up  his  seat  at  the  board  of 
admiralty,  and  lord  Anson,  rather  than  lose  the  advice 
and  experience  of  this  great  seaman,  thought  fit  to  retract 
liis  opposition.  Admiral  Boscawen  was  so  little  infected 
with  the  spirit  of  party,  that  when,  on  his  return  from  one 
of  his  expeditions,  he  found  his  friends  out  of  place,  and 
another  administration  appointed,  and  was  asked  whether 
he  would  continue  as  a  lord  of  the  admiralty  with  them, 
he  replied,  "  the  country  has  a  right  to  the  services  of  its 
professional  men  :  should  I  be  seqt  again  upon  any  expe- 
dition, my  situation  at  the  admiralty  wilt  facilitate  the 
equipment  of  the  fleet  I  am  to  command."  He  probably 
thought,  with  his  great  predecessor,  Blake,  "  It  is  not  for 
us  to  miud  state  affairs,  but  to  prevent  foreigners  from 
fooling  us."  No  stronger  .testimony  of  the  merit  of  ad- 
miral Boscawen  can  be  given,  than  that  afforded  by  the  late 
lord  Chatham,  when  prime  minister :  "  When  I  apply,** 
fiaid  he,  '^  to  other  officers  respecting  any  expedition  I 
may  chance  to  project,  they  always  raise  difficulties ;  you 
always  find  expedients."  * 

:  BOSCAWEN  (William),  an  English  miscellaneous 
writer,  and  poet  of  considerable  merit,  was  nephew  to  the 
preceding,  bfeing  the  younger  son  of  general  George  Bos- 
cawen, third  son  of  lord  Falmouth*  He  was  born  August 
28,  1752,  and  was  sent  to  Eton  school  before  he  was  seven 
years  old,  where  he  obtained  the  particular  notice  and 
favour  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Barnard.  From  school  he  was 
removed  to  Oxford,  where  he  became  a  gentleman  com- 
moner of  Exeter  ^college,  but  l^ft  it,  as  is  not  unusual  with 
gentlemen  intended  for  the  law,  without  taking  a  degree. 
He  then  studied  the  law,  as  a  member  of  the  Middle  Tern* 
pie,  and  the  practice  of  special  pleading  under  Mr.  (after* 
wards  judge)  Buller  :  was  called  to  the  bar,  and  for  a  time 
went  the  Western  circuit.  Nor  were  his  legal  studies  un- 
fruitful, as  he  published  an  excellent  work  under  the  title 
of  "  A  Treatise  of  Convictions  on  Penal  Statutes ;  with 
approved  precedents  of  convictions  before  justices  of  the 
peace,  in  a  variety  of  cases ;  particularly  under  the  Game 
Laws,  the  Revenue  Laws,  and  the  Statutes  respecting  Ma* 
amfactures,  &c."  1792,  8vo,     He  was  also  appointed  one 

.    *  Gent..  Mag.  vol.  XXXL— Sewanrs  ABecdotes«  toI.  U.^^-SmoUctt's  Histor|w 
i-AMiaal  Register,  to!.  L  IL  III.  IV, 


B  0  S  C  A  W  £  N.  14T 

^  the  comniissioners  of  bankrupts,  which  situation  he  held 
till  his  death.  On  Dec.  19,  1785,  he  was  appointed  by- 
patent  to  the  situation  of  a  commissioner  of  the  victualling 
office,  in  consequence  of  which,  and  of  his  marriage  in 
April  1786,  he  soon  after  quitted  the  bar.  He  married 
Charlotte,  second  daughter  of  James  Ibbetson,  D.  D.' arch- 
deacon of  St.  Alban's,  and  rector  of  Bushey.  By  Mrs. 
Boscawen,  who  died  about  seven  years  before  him,  he  had 
a.  numeroiu  family,  five  of  whom,  daughters,  survived  both 
parents. 

Being  an  excellent  classical  scholar,  and  warmly  at* 
tached  to  literary  pursuits,  he  publtsheil,  in  1793,  the 
first  volume  of  a  new  translation  of  Horace,  containing  the 
''  Odes,  Epodes,  and  Carmen  Seculare."  This  being  much 
approved,  was  followed,  in  1798,  by  his  translation  of  the 
^^  Satires,  Epistles,  and  Art  of  Poetry,"  thus  completing 
a  work,  which,  though  Francis's  translation  still  holds  its 
popularity,  is,  in  the  judgment  of  all  classical  men,  very 
greatly  superior  to  it,  in  many  essential  points  of  merit. 
In  1801  he  published  a  small  volume  of  original  poems^ 
in  which,  if  he  does  not  take  a  lead  among  his  contem-^ 
poraries,  he  at  least  discovers  an  elegant  taste,  a  poetical 
mind,  and  a  correct  versification.  He  was  for  several  years 
before  his  death  a  constant  and  able  assistant  in  the  ^^  British 
CriMt."  He  is  also  the  supposed  writer  of**  The  Progress 
of  Satice,  an  essay,  in  verse,  with  notes,  containing  re- 
marks on  *  The  Pursuits  of  LiteratureV  1798,  and  "A 
Supplement  to  the  same,"  1799,  two  pamphlets  occa-^ 
stoned  by  some  freedontts  taken  with  eminent  characters  in 
the  "  Pursuits." 

Mr.  Boscawen's  constitution  was  delicate,  and  probably 
not  improved  by  close  confinement  to  the  duties  of  his 
commissionership.  He  had,  consequently,  for  several  years 
suffered  much  by  asthmatic  affections  of  the  lungs,  which 
gradually  exhausted  the  powers  of  life,  aud  in  the  begin* 
iring  of  May,  1811,  from  an  accidental  accession  of  cold, 

Koved  fatal  on  the  sixth  of  that  month.  The  character  of 
r.  Boscawen,  says  a  writer,  whom  we  know  to  have 
been  one  of  his  intimate  friends,  could  it  be  truly  drawn^ 
would  exhibit  a  consummate  picture  of  every  thing  that  is 
,2ttniable  and  estimable  in  human ,  nature,  improved  by 
knowledge  and  exalted  by  religion.  lu  every  possible  re- 
Jation  of  life,  whatever  was  kind,  whatever  was  affectionate, 
whatever  was  benevolent,  might  with  certainty  be  expected 

L  2 


148  B  O  S  C  A  W  E  N. 

from  him.  That  excellent  institution,  the  Literary  Futfd^ 
he  considered  almost  as  his  child ;  and  his  affection  to  it 
was  testified,  not  only  by  contributions,  but  by  annual 
verses  in  its  praise,  and  assiduous  attendance  on  its  meet- 
ings. Within  five  days  of  his  death  he  wrote  a  copy  of 
Terses  for  its  anniversary,  and  even  contemplated  the  de- 
sign of  attending  it.  A  new  edition  of  his  Horace,  much 
improved  by  his  long  continued  attention,  is  intended  to 
be  brought  forward,  accompanied  by  the  original,  and  by 
many  additional  notes.  * 

BOSCH  (Balthasar  Vandin),  an  artist,  was  hotn  at 
Antwerp,  in  1675,  and  was  placed  under  the  care  of  one 
Thomas,  whose  subjects  were  apartments  with  figures,  in 
the  manner  of  Teniers;  and  be  decorated  the  insides  of 
those  apartments  with  bustos,  vases,  pictures,  and  other 
curiosities,  which  sort  of  subjects  were  at  that  time  in  great 
request.  Bosch  studied  the  same  manner  of  painting,  and 
with  great  success ;  but  the  connoisseurs  and  his  friend^ 
advised  him  to  employ  his  pencil  on  subjects  of  a  more 
elegant  and  elevated  kind  ;  because  it  seemed  a  little  ab- 
surd, to  see  apartments  designed  with  so  much  magni- 
ficence, and  so  richly  ornamented,  occupied  by  persons  so 
mean  and  vulgar  in  their  appearance  as  the  figures  gene>- 
rally  represented.  Bosch  profited  by  the  advice,  and  soon 
acquired  a  different  style  of  design  and  elegance  in  bis 
composition,  which  afforded  more  pleasure  to  the  eye, 
and  more  value  to  his  productions.  He  also  painted  por- 
traits with  a  great  deal  of  reputation,  particularly  a  portrait 
of  the  duke  of  Marlborough  on  horseback,  which  gained 
him  all  the  applause  that  he  could  possibly  desire.  The 
horse  was  painted  by  Van  Bloemen.  His  paintings  rose  to 
a  most  extravagant  price,  and  were  at  that  time  more  dear 
than  those  of  Teniers  or  Ostade.  Some  of  his  works  have 
true  merit,  being  very  good  in  the  composition  and  design, 
and  also  in  respect  of  the  colouring;  and  the  forms  of  his 
figures  were  more  elegant  than  most  of  his  contemporaries. 
His  subjects  were  judiciously  chosen,  and  for  the  most 
part  they  were  sculptors  or  painters,  surrounded  with  pic- 
tures or  bustos  of  marble,  brass,  or  piaster,  to  which  he 
gave  abundance  of  variety,  and  a  great  degree  of  truth. 
His  pencil  is  light,  his  touch  spirited,  and  his  figures  are 

»  Gent  Mag.  1811.--NeTr  Cat.  of  Living  Authors^  toI,  L  1799.— Brit.  Crit. 
toU  XXXVII.  p.  468. 


BOSCH.  14f 

diressed  in  the  mode  of  the  time.  However,  notwithstand- 
ing he  possessed  so  much  merit,  as  is  generally  and  justly 
ascribed  to  hiqn,  his  works  cannot  enter  into  competition 
with  those  of  Ostade  or  Teniers  ;  nor  is  be  now  esteemed 
as  he  formerly  had  been^  even  by  his  own  countrymen. 
He  died  of  excess,  in  1715.^ 

BOSCOLI  (Andr£a),  an  historical  painter,  was  born  at 
Florence,  in  1553,  and  educated  under  Santi  di  Titi.  He 
was  the  first  person  who  had  a  just  notion  of  the  cbiaro 
scuro,  and  used  it  successfully  in  the  Florentine  school ; 
where,  though  it  had  been  happily  practised  by  Giorgione, 
at  Venice,  and  also  by  Titian,  it  was  not  well  understood 
before  bis  time.  He  possessed  great  freedom  of  hand,  and 
gave  a  surprising  force  of  colour;  and  both  in  design  and 
composition  the  grandeur  of  his  style  resembled  that  ofhis 
master.  He  studied  after  nature ;  and  in  his  travels  hd 
drew  sketches  of  any  particular  objects  that  struck  him  ; 
but  pursuing  this  practice  at  Loretto,  with  regard  to  the 
fortifications  of  the  city,  he  was  seized  by  the  officers  of 
justice,  and  condemned  to  be  hanged ;  but  he  happily  es^ 
caped,  within  a  few  hours  of  execution,  by  the  interposition 
of  signior  Bandini,  who  explained  to  the  chief  magistrate 
his  innocent  intention.  He  was  also  an  engraver;  but  the 
subjects  ofhis  plates  are  not  specified  either  by  Marollesor 
Florent  le  Comte.     He  died  in  1606.* 

BOSCOVICH  (Roger  Joseph),  one  of  the  most  emi- 
nent mathematicians  and  philosophers  of  the  last  century, 
was  born  May  II,  1711,  in  the  city  of  Ragusa,  and  studied 
Latin  grammar  in  the  schools  of  the  Jesuits  in  his  native 
city,  where  it  soon  appeared  that  he  was  endued  with  su- 
perior talents  for  the  acquisition  of  learning.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  his  fifteenth  year^  he  had  already  gone  through  the 
grammar  classes  with  applause,  and  had  studied  rhetoric 
for  some  months,  and  as  it  now  became  necessary  to  deter- 
mine on  his  course  of  life,  having  an  ardent  desire  for  learn- 
ing, he  thought  he  could  not  have  a  better  opportunity  of' 
gratifying  it,  than  by  entering  the  society  of  the  Jesuits ; 
and,  with  the  consent  of  his  parents,  he  petitioned  to  be 
received  among  them.  .  It  was  a  maxim  with  the  Jesuits 
to  place  their  most  eminent  subjects  at  Rome,  as  it  was  of 
importance  for  them  to  make  a  good  figure  on  that  theatre; 
and  as  they  had  formed  great  expectations  from  their  new 
pupil^  they  procured  his  being  called  to  that  city  in  172^ 

*  Pilkington. — Descamps,  vol.  IV,   .        «  Pilkington  and  Strutt. 


150 


B  O  S  C  O  V  I  C  H. 


where  he  entered  his  noviciate  with  great  alacrity.  After 
this  noviciate  (a  space  of  two  years)  had  passed  in  the  ttsnal 
prdbationary  exercises,  he  studied  in  the  schools  of  rheto- 
ric, became  well  acquainted  with  all  the  classical  author:*', 
and  cultivated  Latin  poetry  with  some  taste  and  zeal. 

After  this  he  removed  from  tiie  noviciate  to  the  Roman 
college,  in  order  to  study  philosophy,  which  he  did  for 
three  years,  and  as  geometry  made  part  of  that  course,  he 
soon  discovered  that  his  mind  was  particularly  turned  to 
this  science,  which  he  cultivated  with  such  rapid  success,  as 
to  excel  all  his  condisciples,  and  had  already  begun  to  give 
private  lessons  in  mathematics.     According  to  the  ordmary 
course  followed  by  the  Jesuits,  their  yoiing  men,  after  stu- 
dying philosophy,  were  employed  in  teaching  Latin  and 
the  belles  lettres  for  the  space  of  five  years,  as  a  step  to 
the  study  of  theology  and  the  priesthood  at  a  riper  age  ; 
but  as  Boscovich  had  discovered  extraordinary  talents  for 
geometrical  studies,  his  stiperiors  dispensed  with  the  teach- 
ing of  the  schools  *,  and  commanded  him  to  commence  the 
study  of  divinity,  which  he  did  for  four  years,  bat  without 
neglecting  geometry  and  physics,  and  before  that  space 
was  ended,  he  was  appointed  professor  of  mathematics,  an 
office  to  which  he  brought  ardent  zeal  and  first-rate  talents. 
Besides  having  seen  all  the  best  modern  productions  on  ma-^ 
thematical  subjects,  he  studied  diligently  the  antient  geo- 
metricians, and  from  them  learned  that  exact  method  of 
reasoning  which  is  to  be  observed  in  all  his  works.     Al- 
though he  himself  easily  perceived  the  concatenation  of  ma- 
thematical truths,  and  could  follow  them  into  their  most  ab- 
struse recesses,  yet  he  accommodated  himself  with  a  fa^ 
therly  condescension  to  the  weaker  capacities  of  his  scho- 
lars, and  made  every  demonstration  clearly  intelligible  to 
them.     When  he  perceived  that  any  of  his  disciples  were 
capable  of  advancing  faster  than  the  rest,  he  himself  would 
propose  his  giving  them  private  lessons,  that  so  they  might 
not  lose  their  time ;  or  he  would  propose  to  them  proper 
books,  with  directions  how  to  study  by  themselves,  being 
always  ready  to  solve  difficulties  that  might  occur  to  them. 
He  composed  also  new  elements  of  arithmetic,  algebra. 


*  Our  account  of  Boscovich  ii  taken 
from^  TariouB  authorities,  as  will  be 
specified,  but  we  have  fo«ind  it  some- 
what difficult  to  reconcile  their  diffe* 
rences..  The  above  fact,  with  respect 
to  the  dispensation  from  teacbiog  thu 
schools,  18  taken  from  a  life  c^  Bosco* 


▼ieh,  written  by  a  dignified  clergyman 
of  the  church  of  Rome  for  Dr.  Gleig^a 
Supplement  j  but  every  other  account 
we  have  teen,  particularly  that  by  Faf 
broni,  expresaly  asserts  that  he  did 
taach  thete  inihools«  «t  kaat  tlur«» 
years* 


B  O  S  C  O  V  I  C  H.  isi' 

jrfam  and  solid  geometry,  &c.  and  although  these  subjects 
had  been  well  treated  by  a  great  many  authors,  yet  Bosco- 
vich^s  work  will  always  be  esteemed  by  good  judges  as  a, 
masterly  performance,  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  which 
it  was  intended.  To  this  he  afterwards  added  a  new  expo^ 
sition  of  Conic  Sections,  the  only  part  of  his  works  which 
has  appeared  in  English.  It  was  within  these  few  years 
translated,  abridged,  and  somewhat  altered,  by  the  rev.  Mr. 
Newton  of  Cambridge. 

According  to  the  custom  of  the  scbopls,  every  class  in- 
the  Roman  college,  towards  the  end  of  the  scholastic  year, 
gave  public  specimens  of  their  proficiency.  With  this  view 
Boscovich  published  yearly  a  dissertation  on  some  interest- 
ing physico-mathematical  subject,  the  doctrine  of  which 
Was  publicly  defended  by  some  of  his  scholars,  assisted  by: 
their  master,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  concourse  of  the 
most  learned  men  of  Rome.  His  new  opinions  in  philosophy 
were  here  rigorously  examined  and  warmly  controverted  by 
persons  well  versed  in  physical  studies :  but  he  proposed 
nothing  without  solid  grounds :  he  had  foreseen  all  their 
objections,  answered  them  victoriously,  and  always  came 
off  with  great  applause  and  increase  of  reputation.  Ha 
published  likewise  dissertations  on  other  occasions:  and 
these  works,  though  small  in  size,  are  very  valuable  both 
for.  matter  and  manner.  It  was  in  some  of  them  that  he  firstr 
divulged  his  sentiments  concerning  the  nature  of  body,^ 
which  he  afterwards  digested  into  a  regul|ir  theory,  and 
which  is  justly  become  so  famous  among  the  learned. 

Father  Noceti,  another  Jesuit,  and  one  of  his  early.pre-* 
ceptors,  had  composed  two  excellent  poems  on  the  rainbow 
and  the  aurora  borealis,  which  were  published  in  17479 
with  learned  annotations  by  Boscovich.  His  countryman^ 
Benedict  Stay,  after  haviug  published  the  philosophy  of 
Descartes  in  Latin  verse,  attempted  the  same  with  regard 
to  the  more  modern  and  more  true  philosophy,  and  has  ex- 
ecuted it  with  wonderful  success.  The  first  two  volumes  of 
this  elegant  and  accurate  work  were  published  in  1755,  and 
1760,  with  annotations  and  supplements  by  Bosjcovich^ 
These  supplements  are  short  dissertations  on  the  most  im- 
portant parts  of  physics  and  mathematics.  In  these  he  af- 
fords a  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  centre  of  oscillation, 
to  which  Huygens  had  come  by  a  wrong  method ;  confutes 
Euler,  who  bad  imagined  that  tEe  vis  inertia  was  aecessary 


153  B  O  S  C  O  V  I  C  H.. 

in  matter ;  and  refutes  the  ingenious  efforts  of  Riccati  on 
the  Leibnitzian  opinion  of  the  forces  called  living. 

Benedict  XIV.  who  was  a  great  encourager  of  learning, 
and  a  beneficent  patron  of  learned  men,  gave  Boscovich 
many  proofs  of  the  esteem  he  bad  for  him  ;  and  both  he 
and  his  enlightened  minister,  cardinal  Valenti,  consulted 
Boscovich  oh  various  important  objects  of  public  economy, 
the  clearing  of  harbours,  and  the  constructing  of  roads  and 
canals.  On  one  occasion,  he  was  joined  in  a  commissioa 
with  other  mathematicians  and  architects,  invited  from  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Italy,  to  inspect  the  cupola  of  l^t.  Peter^s, 
in  which  a  crack  had  been  discovered.  They  were  divided 
in  opiniori ;  but  the  sentiments  of  Boscovich,  and  of  the 
marquis  Poleni,  prevailed.  In  stating,  however,  the  re- 
sult of  the  consultation,  which  was  to  apply  a  circle  of 
iron  round  the  building,  Poleni  forgot  to  refer  the  idea  to 
its  real  author,  and  this  omission  grievously  offended  Bos- 
covich, who  was  tenacious  of  fame,  and  somewhat  irritable 
in  temper.  About  the  same  time  other  incidents  had  con- 
curred to  mortify  his  pride ;  and  he  became  at  last  dis- 
gusted with  his  situation,  and  only  looked  for  a  convenient 
opportunity  of  quitting  Rome. ,  While  in  this  temper  of 
mind,  an  application  was  made  by  the  court  of  Portugal  to 
the  general  of  the  Jesuits,  for  ten  mathematicians  of  the 
society  to  go  out  to  Brazil,  for  the  purpose  of  surveying 
that  settlement,  and  ascertaining  the  boundaries  which  di- 
vide it  from  the  Spanish  dominions  in  America.  Wishing 
to  combine  with  that  object  the  mensuration  of  a  degree  of 
latitude,  Boscovich  offered  to  embark  in  the  expedition, 
and  his  proposition  was  readily  accepted.  But  cardinal 
Valenti,  unwilling  to  lose  his  services,  commanded  him, 
in  the  name  of  the  pope,  to  dismiss  the  project,  and  per- 
suaded him  to  undertake  the  same  service  at  home  in  the 
Papal  territory.  In  this  fatiguing,  and  often  perilous  ope- 
ration, he  was  assisted  by  the  English  Jesuit,  Mayer,  an 
excellent  mathematician,  and  was  amply  provided  with  the 
requisite  instruments  and  attendants.  They  began  the 
work  about  the  close  of  the  year  1750,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Rome,  and  extended  the  meridian  line  northwards, 
across  the  chain  of  the  Appennines  as  far'as  Rimini.  Two 
whole  years  were  spent  in  completing  the  various  measure- 
ments, which  were  performed  with  the  most  scrupulous 
accuracy.  The  whole  is  elaborately  described  by  Bosco- 
vich in  a  quarto  volume^    full  of  illustration  and  minute 


B  O  S  C  O  V  I  C  H.  13a 

details,  and  with  several  opuscules,  or  detax^hed  essaysp 
which  display  great  ingenuity,  conjoi&ed  with  the  finest 
geometric  taste.  We  may  instance^  in  particular,  the  dis« 
course  on  the  rectification  of  instruments,  the  elegant  syn- 
thetical investigation  of  the  figure  of  the  earth,  deduced 
both  from  the  law  of  attraction,  and  from  the  actual  mea- 
surement of  degrees,. and  the  nice  remarks  concerning  the 
curve  and  the  conditions  of  permanent  stability.  This  last 
tract  gave  occasion,  however,  to  some  strictures  from 
D'Alembert,  to  which  Boscovich  replied,  in  a  note  an- 
nexed to  the  French  edition  of  his  works.  The  arduous 
service  which  Boscovich  had  now  performed  was  but  poorly 
rewarded.  From  the  pope  he  received  only  a  hundred  se- 
quins, or  about  forty-five  pounds  sterling,  a  gold  box,  and 
^'  abundance  of  praise."  He  now  resumed  the  charge  of 
the  mathematical  school,  and  besides  discharged  faithfully 
the  public  duties  of  religion,  which  are  enjoined  by  bis  order* 
A  trifling  circumstance  will  mark  the  warmth  of  his  tem- 
per, and  his  love  of  precedence.  He  had  recourse  to  the 
authority  of  cardinal  Valenti,  to  obtain  admission  into  the 
oratory  of  Caravita,  from  which  his  absence  excluded  him, 
and  which,  yet  afforded  only  the  benefit  of  a  free,  but  fru- 
gal supper.  In  presiding. at  that  social  repast,  the  philo- 
sopher relaxed  from  the  severity  of  his  studies,  and  shone 
by  his  varied,  his  lively,  and  fluent  conversation. 
•  At  this  time  a  dispute  arose  between  the  little  republic 
of  Lucca,  and  the  government  of  Tuscany,  on  the  subject 
of  draining  a  lake.  A  congress  of  mathematicians  was 
palled,  and  Boscovich  repaired  to  the  scene  of  content-ion^ 
in  order  to  defend  the  rights  of  the  petty  state.  Having 
waited  three  months  in  vain,  expecting  the  commissioners^ 
and  amused  with  repeated  hollow  promises,  he  thought  it 
better  for  the  interest  of  his  constituents,  to  proceed  at 
once  to  the  court  of  Vienna,  which  then  directed  the  affairs 
of  Italy.  The  flames  of  war  had  been  recently  kindled  on 
the  continent  of  Europe,  and  Boscovich  took  occasion  to 
celebrate  the  first  successes  of  the  Austrian  ai*ms,  in  a 
poem,  of  which  the  first  book  was  presented  to  the  em- 
press Theresa ;  but  the  military  genius  of  Frederic  the 
Great  of  Prussia  soon  turned  the  scale  of  fortune,  and  our 
poet  was  reduced  to  silence.  More  honourably  did  he 
employ  some  leisure  in  the  composition  of  his  immortal 
work,  *'  Theoria  philosophicB  naturalis  reducta  ad  unicam 
legend  virium  in  natur^  e:pst^ntium/'  printed  at  Vienna  in 


154 


B  O  S  C  O  V  I  C  a 


1758^.  This  he  drew  up,  it  is  alledged,  in  the  very  short 
space  of  thirty  days,  having  collected  the  naterials  a  con* 
siderable  time  before ;  yet  we  must  regret  the  ai^earance 
of  haste  and  disorder,  which  deforms  a  production  of  such 
rare  and  intrinsic  excellence.  ' 

After  a  successful  suit  of  eleven  months  at  Vienna,  Bos* 
covich  returned  to  Rome,  and  received  from  the  senate  of 
Lucca,  for  his  zealous  services,  the  handsome  present  of 
a  thousand  sequins,  or  about  450/.  Thus  provided  witbv 
the  means  of  gratifying  his  curiosity,  he  desired  and  obw 
tained  leave  to  travel.  At  Paris  he  spent  six  months,  ia 
the  society  of  the  eminent  men  who  then  adorned  the 
French  capital ;  and,  during  his  stay  in  London,  he  waa 
elected,  in  1760,  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  h« 
dedicated  to  that  learned  body  his  poem  on  eclipses,  which 
contains  a  neat  compendium  of  astronomy  ^,  and  was  pub- 
lished at  London  the  same  year.  The  expectation  of  the 
scientific  world  was  then  turned  to  the  transit  of  Venus, 
calculated  to  happen  in  the  following  year.  Boscovicb, 
eager  to  observe  it,  returned  through  Holland  and  Flan- 
iiers  to  Italy,,  and  joined  his  illustrious  friend,  Correr,  at 
Venice,  from  whence  they  sailed  to  Constantinople,  hav« 
ing  on  their  way,  visited  the  famous  plain  of  Troy.  In 
Turkey,  he  scarcely  enjoyed  one  day  qf  good  health,  and 
his  life  was  repeatedly  despaired  of  by  the  physicians. 
After  spending  half  a  year  in  this  miserable  state,  he  re- 
turned in  the  train  of  sir  James  Porter,  our  ambassador  at 
the  Porte ;  and  having  traversed  Bulgaria  Moldavia,  and 
pait  of  Poland,  his  intention  was  to  penetrate  into  Russia^ 
if  the  agitation  which  there  prevailed,  on  the  death  of  the 
emperor  Peter,  had  not  deterred  him  from  executing  the 
project.  The  diary  of  his  journey,  which  he  published  in 
Italian  and  French,  is  inferior  to  any  of  his  works^  and 
contains  many  trifling  and  insipid  remarks.     The  truth  was. 


*  The  occasion  of  bis  coming  to 
London  is  thus  related  in  his  life  in  Dr. 
Qleig's  Supplement:  The  British  niniis- 
Iry  had  been  informed,  that  ships  of 
war,  for  the  French,  had  been  built 
and  fitted  oyt  in  the  sea-p6rt8  of  Ra-  ' 
guia,  and  had  signified  their  displea- 
sure ou  that  account.  This  occasioned 
uneasiness  to  the  senate  of  Ragusa,  as 
their  subjects  ave  very  sea-faring,  and 
much  employed  ia  the  carrying  trade  i 
and  therefore  it  would  have  been  in- 
ttonveoient  for  tbam  to  have  caused 


any  disgust  against  them,  in  the  prin* 
cipal  maritime  power.  Their  country, 
man  Boscoricb  was  desired  to  go  to 
London,  in  order  to  satisfy  that  court 
on  the  above-mentioned  head ;  and 
with  this  desire  he  complied  cheerftilly 
on  many  accounts.  His  success  at 
London  was  equal  to  that  at  Vienna, 
He  pleaded  the  cause  of  his  country- 
sen  effectually  there,  and  that  without 
giving  offence  to  the  French,  with 
whom  Ra^fusa  soon  after  entered  iot# 
a  treaty  of  cemneree. 


BOSOOVICH.  155 

feoscovich  began  his  travels  at  too  late  a  period  of  life  ta 
profit  much  by  tliem. 

At  Rome  his  arrival  was  welcomed,  and  he  was  agaiti 
consulted  on  various  plans  of  public  improvement.  But  in 
the  spring. of  1764,  he  was  called  by  the  Austrian  gover- 
nor of  Milan,  to  fill  the  mathematical  chair  in  the  utiiver* 
sity  of  Pavia.  The  honours  which  he  received  provoked 
ibe  jealousy  of  the  other  professors,  who  intrigued  to  un- 
dermine his  fame.  He  took  the  most  effectual  mode,  how* 
ever,  to  silence  them,  by  publishing  his  dissertations  oa 
o]^tics,  which  exhibit  an  elegant  synthesis  and  well-devised 
set  of  experiments.  These  essays  excited  the  more  atten- 
tion, as,  at  this  time,  the  ingenuity  of  men  of  science  wai 
particularly  attracted  to  the  subject,  by  Dollond's  valuable 
discovery  of  achromatic  glasses. 

The  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  the  dominions  of 
Spain  prevented  Boscovich  from  going  to  California,  to 
observe  the  second  transit  of  Venus,  in  1769,  and  which 
expedition  the  royal  society  of  London  had  strongly  so- 
licited him  to  undertake.     And  as  his  rivals  began  now  to 
stir  themselves  again,  he  sought  to  dispel  the  chagrin,  by 
a  second  journey  into  France  and  the  Netherlands.     At 
Brussels  he  met  with  a  peasant,   famous  for  curing  the 
gout,  and  from  whose  singular  skill  he  received  most  es- 
sential benefit.     On  his  return  to  Italy  in   1770,  he  was 
transferred  from  the  university  of  Pavia  to  the  Palatine 
schools  at  Milan,  and  resided  with  those  of  his  order,  at 
the  college  of  Brera,  where  he  furnished,  mostly  at  his 
own  expence,  an  observatory,  of  which  he  got  the  direc- 
tion.    But  he  was  still  doomed  to  experience  mortification. 
Some  young  Jesuits,  who  acted  as  his  assistants,  formed  a 
conspiracy,  and,  by  their  artful  representations,  prevailed 
with  the  government  to  exclude  his  favourite  pupil  and 
friend  from  holding  a  charge  of  trust.     This  intelligence 
was  communicated  to  him  at  the  baths  of  Albano,  and  filled 
him  with  grief  and  indignation.     He  complained  to  princo 
Kaunitz,  but  implored  his  protection  in  vain.     To  the  go« 
vernor  of  Milan  he  wrote,  that  he  would  not  return,  un- 
less things  were  restored  to  their  former  footing.     He  re** 
tired  to  Venice,  where,  having  staid  ten  months  in  fruitless 
expectation  of  obtaining  redress,  he  meditated  spending 
the  remainder  of  his  days  in  honourable  retirement  at  hi9 
native  city  of  Ragusa.     But  while  he  waited  for  the  oppor- 
tunity of  a  vessel  to  convey  him  thither,  he  received  the 


15«  BOSCOVICH. 

afflicting  news  of  the  suppression  of  bis  order  in  Italy.  He 
now  renounced  his  scheme,  and  seemed  quite  uncertain 
what  step  he  should  take.  Having  come  into  the  Tuscan 
territory,  he  listened  .to  the  counsels  and  solicitation  oi 
Fabroniy  who  held  forth  the  prospect  of  a  handsome  ap« 
pointment  in  the  I^yceum  of  Pisa.  In  the  mean  time  he 
accepted  the  invitation  of  La  Bord^  chamberlain  to  Louis 
]^V.  accompanied  him  to  Paris  in  1773,  and  through  his 
influence  obtained  the  most  liberal  patronage  from  the 
French  monarch ;  he  was  naturalized,  received  two  pen- 
sions, amounting  to  8000  livres,  or  333/.  and  had  an  office 
expressly  created  for  him,  with  the  title  of  "  Director  of 
optics  for  the  marine.'*  Boscovich  might  now  appear,  to 
have  attained  the  pinnacle  of  fortune  and  glory ;  but  Paris 
was  no  longer  for  hiin  the  theatre  of  applause,  and  his  ar* 
dent  temper  became  soured  by  the  malign  breath  of  jea- 
lousy and  neglect.  Such  extraordinary  favour  bestowed 
on  a  foreigner  could  not  fail  to  excite  the  envy  of  the 
sgavansy  who  considered  him  as  rewarded  greatly  beyond 
biB  true  merit.  The  freedom  of  his  language  gave  offence, 
his  perpetual  egotism  became  disgusting,  and  his  repetition 
of  barbarous  Latin  epigrams  was  most  grating  to  Parisian 
ears.  Besides,  the  name  of  a  priest  and  a  Jesuit  did  not 
now  command  respect ;  and  the  sentiments  of  austere  de- 
votion, which  he  publicly  professed,  had  grown  unfashion- 
ahle,  and  were  regarded  as  scarcely  befitting  the  charp,cter 
of  a  philosopher. 

But,  notwithstanding  these  discouragements,  Boscovich 
applied  assiduously  to  the  improvement  of  astronomy  and 
optics ;  revised  and  extended  his  former  ideas,  and  struck 
out  n^w  paths  of  discovery.  His  solution  of  the  problem 
,to  determine  the  orbit  of  a  comet  from  three  observations, 
is  remarkable  for  its  elegant  simplicity;  being  derived 
from  the  mere  elementary  principles  of  trigonometry. 
Not  less  beautiful  are  his  memoirs  on  the  micrometer,  and 
on  achromatic  telescopes.  But  his  situation  becoming 
more,  irksome,  in  1783,  he  desired  and  obtained  leave  of 
absence.  Two  years  he  spent  at  Bassdno,  in  the  Venetian 
state,  where  he  published  his  opuscules,  in  five  volumes, 
4to,  composed  in  Latin,  Italian,  and  French,  and  contain- 
ing a  variety  of  elegant  and  ingenious  disquisitions  con- 
fiected  with  astronomical  and  optical  science.  During  tjbat 
time  he  lived  with  his  editor  Remondini,  and  occupied 
himself  in  superintending  the  press.     After  finishing  hi^ 


B  O  S  C  O  V  I  C  H.  US'? 

« 

tast,  he  came  to  Tuscany,  and  passed  some  months  at  the 
convent  of  Valombrosa.  Thence  he  went  to  Milan,  and 
issued  a  Latin  prospectus,  in  which  he  proposed  to  reprint 
the  remaining  two  voluhies  of  the  philosophical  poem  of 
Stay,  enriched  with  his  annotations,  and  extended  to  ten 
books.  But  very  few  subscribers  appeared  ;  his  opusculeis 
experienced  a  slow  sale  ;  and  the  Imperial  minister  neither 
consulted  nor  employed  him  in  some  mathematical  operas 
tions  which  were  carrying  on ;  all  symptoms  that  he  was  no 
more  a  favourite  of  the  Italian  public.  These  mortifica- 
tions preyed  upon  his  spirits,  and  made  the  deeper  im- 
pression, as  his  health  was  much  disordered  by  an  inflam- 
mation of  the  lungs.  He  sunk  into  a  stupid^  listless  me- 
lancholy, and  after  brooding  many  days,  he  emerged  int6 
insanity,  but  not  without  lucid  intervals,  during  which  re- 
ligion suggested  topics  of  consolation,  and  he  regretted 
having  spent  his  time  in  curious  speculation,  and  con- 
sidered the  calamity  with  which  he  was  visited  as  a  kind  of 
chastisement  of  heaven  for  neglecting  the  spiritual  duties 
of  his  profession.  In  this  temper  of  resignation,  he  ex- 
pired on  the*  13th  of  February,  1787.  He  was  interred 
decently,  but  without  pomp,  in  the  parochial  church  of 
S.  Maria  Pedone.  **  Such  was  the  exit,"  says  Fabroni, 
**  of  this  sublime  genius,  whom  Rome  honoured  as  her 
master,  whom  all  Italy  regarded  as  her  ornament,  and  to 
whom  Greece  would  have  erected  a  statue,  had  she  fot 
want  of  space  been  obliged  even  to  throw  down  some  of 
her  heroes." 

Boscovich  was  tall  in  stature,  of  a  robust  constitution, 
but  pale  complexion.  His  countenance,  which  was  rather 
long,  was  expressive  of  cheerfulness  and  good  humour. 
He  was  open,  sincere,  communicative,  and  benevolent 
We  have  already  noticed  that  with  all  these  qualities,  he 
was  too  irritable,  and  too  sensible  of  what  he  thought  a 
neglect,  which  gave  him  unnecessary  uneasiness.  He  was 
a  man  of  strict  piety,  according  to  his  views  of  religion. 
His  great  knowledge  of  the  works  of  nature  made  him  en- 
tertain the  highest  admiration  of  the  power  and  wisdom  of 
the  Creator.  He  saw  the  necessity  and  advantages  of  a 
divine  revelation,  and  was  sincerely  attached  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  having  a  sovereign  contempt  for  the  pre- 
sumption and  foolish  pride  of  infidels. 

Zamagna,  his  countryman,  and  also  a  Jesuit,  published 
a  panegyric  on  him  in  elegant  Latiu;^  and  a  short  encomima 


B  O  S  C  O  V  I  C  H. 

of  him  is  to  be  found  in  the  ^'  Estratto  delia  Litteratuni 
£aropa  ;^*  and  another,  in  the  form  of  a  letter,  was  di<* 
rected  by  Lalande  to  the  Parisian  journalists.  A  more  full 
life  and  eulogium  is  in  Fabroni^s  collection  ;  another  is  in 
the  Journal  of  Modena ;  a  third  was  published  at  Milan  by 
the  abbate  Ricca ;  and  a  fourth  at  Naples  by  Dr.  Julius 
Bajamonte.  Fabroni  has  given  the  most  complete  cata- 
logue of  his  works*  ^ 

fiOSIUS  (James),  a  native  of  Milan,  and  servitor  of  the 
order  of  Malta,  lived  about  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  cen<- 
tury,  when  he  was  appointed  agent  for  the  religion  of 
Malta  at  Rome,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  this  office 
with  fidelity.  The  knowledge  he  found  it  necessary  to  ac>« 
quire,  appears  to  have  suggested  the  design  of  writing  a 
history  of  that  celebrated  order,  which  was  published  under 
the  title  ^^  Historia  delP  ordine  di  S.  Giovanni  Gieroso- 
limitano,^*  in  three  parts  or  volumes,  the  vfirst  two  at 
Rome,  1594,  and  the  third  in  1602,  a  work  in  which  he  is 
said  to  have  been  assisted  by  two  monks,  and  which  coii'^ 
tains  many  curious  facts,  that  have  been  highly  servicer 
able  to  the  subsequent  historians  of  Malta.  It  happened 
that  Bosius  resided  with  Petrochini  at  Rome,  and  when  be 
was  made  cardinal  by  Sixtus  V.  Bosius  attached  himself 
to  him,  in  hopes  of  being  4>romoted  to  the  same  honoajp, 
when  Petrochini  should  be  pope ;  Lut  the  latter  being 
overlooked  at  the  next  election  for  the  papal  chair,  Bosius 
went  home  and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days,  how 
many  we  are  not  told,  in  exercises  of  devotion.  He  appears 
to  have  had  much  of  the  superstition  of  his  order,  and  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived,  a:^  he  wrote  a  history  of  the  sacred 
cross  on  which  our  Saviour  suffered,  from  its  discovery  in 
the  reign  of  Constantino  the  great;  and  decorated  the 
church  of  St.  Blaise  with  this  choice  morsel  of  authentic 
.history.     His  nephew, 

BOSIUS  f  Anthony),  and  the  inheritor  of  his  property^ 
was  educatea  by  him,  studied  law,  and  by  his  uncle's  in- 
terest was  appointed  agent  to  the  order  of  Malta.  He 
was  a  very  little  man,  of  a  dark  countenance,  resembling 
that  of  his  mother,  who  had  been  an  African  slave,  whom 
his  father  married.  In  bis  youth  he  was  very  wild,  but  re- 
formed, lest  his  uncle  should  disinherit  him,  and  addicted 
himself  to  the  study  of  antiquities,  producing  the  ^^  Romja 

1  Fabroni  Vitae  Ilalorum,  vol.  XIV.— >Dr.  Glei|^*s  Supplement  to  the  Encyclop^ 
Brii. — Dr,  Rees't  Cydop«dia. 


B  O  S  I  U  S.  «5f 

Sotteraneii/'  Rome,  1632,  foL  a  description  of  the  tombi 
and  the  epkapbs  of  the  early  Chrii^tians  which  are  found  in 
the  catacombs  at  Rome.  For  this  purpose  be  investigated 
them  with  great  care,  often  remaining  five  or  six  dayi 
together  under  ground,  but  he  did  not  lire  to  put  the  fi« 
nishing  hand  to  the  work,  which  was  published  by  John 
Severani,  a  priest  of  the  oratory.  Father  Aringhi,  another 
of  the  oratory,  translated  and  published  it  in  Latin^  165 1, 
l>^ols.  fol,  an  edition  in  more  request  than  the  original,  and 
more  full  and  correct.  * 

BOSIUS  ^OHN  Andrew),  an  eminent  pbilologer  and 
historian,  was  born  at  Leipsic,  June  17,  1626^  and  suc- 
ceeded so  rapidly  m  his  first  studies,  that  he  was  admitted 
to  his  bachelor's  degree  in  the  college  of  his  native  city 
when  he  had  scarcely  attained  his  fifteenth  year ;  and  af« 
terwards  wrote  and  defended  some  theses,  as  is  the  custom 
at  Leipsic.  In  1643  he  went  to  study  at  Wittemherg, 
lodg^ing  first  with  Balthasar  Cellarius,  and  afterwards  with 
J.  C.  Seldius,  two  learned  men,  by  whose  assistance  he 
was  enabled  to  improve  what  he  heard  from  the  public 
lecturers*  In  1645  he  returned  to  Leipsic,  and  again  at- 
tended some  of  the  able  professors  under  whom  he  was 
first  educated,  particularly  Muiler  and  Rivinus ;  and  the 
following  year,  after  a  public  disputation,  in  which  he  ac** 
quifbted  himself  with  great  applause,  he  was  admitted  t^ 
his  master's  degiee.  In  1647  he  went  to  Strasburgh,  and 
studied  divinity  and  ecclesiastical  history,  and  the  modern 
languages,  until  he  was  recalled  to  Leipsic,  where,  after 
two  disputations  on  the  solar  spots,  he  was,  in  1655,  ad* 
mitted  assessor  of  philosophy.  The  following  year  he  was 
invited  to  be  professor  of  history  at  Jena,  and  acquired 
the  greatest  reputation  as  a  teacher,  while  he  employed 
his  leisure  hours  in  composing  his.  own  works,  or  editing 
some  of  those  of  the  ancients,  making  considerable  pro- 
gress in  an  edition  of  Josephus^  and  spme  of  the  Byzantine 
historians.  For  five  years,  he  was  dean,  and,  in  1661,  rec- 
tor of  the  college,  and  in  1672  he  founded  the  society  of 
ioquirers,  ^*  Societas  dlsquirentium,"  at  Jena.  He  died  of 
zepeated  attacks  of  the  gout,  which  had  undermined  his 
constitution,  on  April  29,  1674.  Bosius  was  the  particular 
iriend  of  Heinsius  and  Grsevius,  both  of  whom  speak  highly 
pf  bis  talents.     Among  his  works  may  be  enumerated,  1. 

>  Moreri.'—ErythTaii  Piiiacotbtca. 


1€0  B  O  S  I  U  & 

<' Dissertiatio  de  Teterum  adoratioQe,'V  Leipsic,  1646,  4tOL 
^  His  edition  of  ^^  Cornelius  Nepos,''  1657,  and  again  at 
Jena,  1675,  8vo,  which  gave  such  general  satisfaction  to 
the  learned  men  of  his  day,  that  few  subsequent  editors 
ventured  to  depart  from  his  text.    3.  ^<  Dissertado  de  Pon^ 
tificatu   Maximo  Imperatorum.praecipue  Christianorum,'' 
Jena,  1657,  4to^  reprinted  by  Graevius  in  the  fifth  vol.  of 
his  Thesaurus.     4.'*^  De  ara  ignoti.Dei  ad  Act  17,"  Jena^ 
J659,  4t6.     5.  "De  Tiberio,"  ibid.  1661.     6.  "  Exerci* 
tatio  historica  de  Clinicis  Ecclesiae  veteris,"  ibid.  1664j 
4to.     7.  An  edition  of  Tacitus,  *^  De  Vita  Agricolae,  Jena, 
1664,  8vo.    8.  "  Schediasma  de  comparanda  notitia  Scrip*- 
torum  Ecclesiasticorum,"    ibid,    1673,    4to,  reprinted   by 
Crenius  in   his  "  Tractatus   de  eruditione  eomparanda,'* 
Leyden,  1699,  4to,  and  by  J.  G.  Walch,  Jena,  1723,  sVo. 
After  his  death  were  published,  9.  "  Introductio  in  noti- 
tiam  rerum  publicarum,''  with  his  Essay  on  the  state  of 
Europe,  Jena,  1676,  4to.     10.  "  Dissertatio  Isagogica  de 
eomparanda  prudentia  civili,  deque  scriptoribus  et  librk 
ad  earn  rem  maxime  aptis,"  ibid.  1679,  4to,  and  reprinted 
by  Crenius.    1 1.  "  Ejusdem  et  Reinesii  Epistolae  .mutti®,'* 
ibid.  1700,  12mo.   12.^^Petronii  Satyriconpuritatedonauiat 
cum   fragmento  Traguriensi  et  AlbsB  Grseca;,  &c."  ibid. 
1701,  8vo.     13.    '^  HispanisB,  Ducatus   Mediolanensi^,  et 
itegni  Neapolitan!  Notitia,"  Helmstadt,  1702,  4to.^      t 

BOSQ.UET  (Francis),  bishop  of  Lodeve,  and  after- 
wards of  Montpellier,  was  one  of  the  most  learned  French 
prelates  in  the  seventeenth  century.  He  was  born  at  Nar^ 
bonne.  May  28,  1605,  and  studied  atThoulouse*  He  was 
afterwards  appointed  judge  royal  of  Narbonne,  intendant 
of  Guienne  and  Languedoc,  solicitor  general  to  the  par* 
liament  of  Normandy,  and  counsellor  of  state  in  ordinary^ 
For  his  services  in  this  last  pffice  he  was  promoted  to  the 
bishopric  of  Lodeve,  Jan.  1650.  When  the  a£&ir  of  the 
five  propositions  was  agitated  at  Rome,  Bosquet  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  on  the  part  of  the  king  and  clergy  of 
France,  and  while  there,  the  cardinal  Este  appointed  him 
bishop  of  Montpellier.  He  was  exemplary  for, piety,  dis*- 
interestedness,  and  charity,  and,  like  the  best  of  his  bre- 
thren at  that  time,,  practised  rigorous  austerities.  He  as'>' 
sisted  at  the  general  assembly  of  the  clergy  held  at  Paris 

1  Freheri  Theatnim»— Baillet  Jugemens  des  Sayans.— Saxii  Onomast— nDib« 
clia's  Classics. 


BOSQUET-  J6l 

tn  1670,  and  was  distinguished  for  hi«  learning  and  elo- 
quence. An  apoplexy  carried  him  off  July  24,  1676,'  and 
he  was  interred  in  the  cathedral,  with  an  epitaph  cele- 
brating bis  many  virtues.  The  first  w<)rk  he  published 
waff  "  PselU  Synopsis  Legum^'*  1632^  apiece  never  be- 
fore printed,  and  written  in  Greek  '^e««se  by  Psellus  fat 
the  use  of  bis  pupil  IMicbael  Ducas,  in  the  eleventh  century. 
Bosquet  translated  it  into  Latin,  and  added  notes  to  it. 
He  then  published,  2.  <<  EcolesioB  Gallicanse  Historiarum 
Kber  primus,"  1636,   4to.     3.   "  Pontificum   Romanorumi 

.  qui  e  Gallia  oriundi  in  ea  sederunt,  historia,  ab  anno  1315 
ad  ann.  1394  ex  MSS.  edita,"  Paris,  1632.  The  second 
edition  of  his  history  of  the  Gallican  Chunch,  the  one 
above  mentioned  in  1636,  was  much  enlarged,  but  some 
passages  were  omitted  that  had  appeared  in  the  first  octavo 
edition^  which  archbishop  Usher  has  transcribed i  By 
Ihese  it  appears  that  Bosquet  was  of  opinion  that  the 
anistaken  zeal  of  the  monks  was  the  chief  cause  of  those 
fabulous  traditions  which  have  destroyed  all  con^dence  in 
the'  early  history  of  the  Gallican  churchy  and  while  he 
makes  some  apology  for  the  credulous  believers  of  those 
aiAories,  he  makes  none  for  lliose  who  originally  invented 
ihem,  a  concession  of  great  liberality  from  a  prelate  of  the 
Romish  church.  * 

BOSSE  (Abraham),  a  French  engraver,  was  bora  at 
Tours,  and  gave  the  first  lessons  of  perspective  in  the 
academy  of  painting  at  PjUris.  He  had  great  judgement  iix 
that  brsnch  as  well  as  in  architecture.  He  left,  1.  Three? 
good  tracts,  on  the  manner  of  drawing  the  orders  of  ar- 
chitecture, 1684,  folio;  on  the  art  of  engraving,  1645, 
8vo  ;  on  perspective,  1682,  8vo.  2.  Representation  of  di- 
vers human  figures,  with  their  measures,  taken  from  the 
antiques  at  Rome,  Paris,  1656;  a  pocket  volume  all  en- 
graved* His  plates  in  aqua  fortis,  but  in  a  peculiar  me<^ 
thod,  are  agreeable.  The  work  of  Bosse  on  the  art  of 
engraving  was  re-published  some  years  ago,  with  the  re* 
marks  and  augmentations  of  M.  Cochin  the  younger.  Bosse 
died  in  his  own  country  about  the  year  1660,  according  to 
Jombert.     Bosse  was  a  turbulent  character,  and  created 

,  many  enemies,  particularly  owing  to  his  having  published 
some  pieces  of  Desargues  on  perspective,  and  having 
adopted  the  opinions  of  this  writer,  which  were  adverse 

1  Gen.  Diet.— Moreri.<U(;tferitts  ia  Pref.Biit,  Eocles*  Anti^.-*-«Saxii  Otiom»st. 

Vol..  VI.  M 


I6t  B  O  9  S  £. 

to  ^hose  of  Le  Brun  and  the  ablest  academiciansv  TUm 
produced  a  controversy,  in  which  he  so  displeased  the 
academicians  that  they  expelled  him  from  their  society* ' 

BOSSO  (Matthew),  an  Italian  scholar  and  writer  of 
considerable  eminence,  was  bom  at  Verona  in  1427,  and 
in  1451  entered  the  congregation  of  the  regular  canons  of 
St.  John  of  Lateran,  where  he  bore  several  employments, 
as  visitor  of  the  order,  procorator-general,   and  abbot  of 
Fiesole  in  Tuscany.     Cosmo  de  Medici,  who  had  a  high 
respect  for  him,  spent  seventy  thousand  crowns  in   the 
repairs  of  that  monastery,  and  it  was  in  the  church  be^ 
longing  to  it  that  j6osso  delivered*  the  ensigns  of  the  car- 
dinalsbip  to  John  de  Medici,  afterwards  pope  Leo  X.   Six«» 
tus  VI.  also  employed  him  in  many  important  affairs,  parn 
ticularly  in  reforming  the  religious  houses  of  Genoa,  and 
other  neighbouring  districts,  and  he  thrice  oSered  hixn  .a 
valuable  bishopric,  which  he  refused.     He  vigorously  op>^ 
posed  the  decree  of  pope  Innocent  VIII.  which  .ordered 
all  sorts  of  monks  to  pay  part  of  their  yearly  revenues  to 
the  clerks  of  the  apostolic  chamber.     Hermolaus  Barbaras 
was  his  pupil  and  guest  at  Fiesole,  and  Picusof  Miraadula^ 
his  friend.     He  died  at  Padua  in  1502.    Mr.  Roscoe  says 
he  was  a  profound  scholar,  a  close  reasoner,  and  a  cou#^ 
vincing  orator ;  and  to  these  united  a  candid  mind,  an  ip^ 
flexible  integrity,  and  an  interesting  simplicity  of  life  and 
manners.     His  literary  productions  were,  l.'^De  Insti«>< 
tuendo  Sapientia  animo/'  Bologna^  1495»     2.  '^  De  veris, 
et  saiutaribus  animi  gaudiis,*'  Florence,  149^^1.     3.  <<  £pis- 
tolar.  Lib.'  tres,"  or  rather  three  volumes,  printed  1493^ 
1498,  1502. — Some  orations  of  his  are  in  the  .collection- 
entitled  ^'  Recuperationes  FsesulansB,'*  a  rare  and  beauti-. 
ful  book,  said  to  have  been  printed  in  14S3.     His  whole 
works  were  published  by  P.  Ambrosini,  at  Bologna,  1627^ 
with  the  exception  of  the  third  book,  orvolume,  of  letters^ 
which,  on  account  of  its  extreme  rarity,  was  at  that  time 
unknown  to  the   editor.     His  moral  writings  were   very 
highly  esteemed ;  and  one  of  his  pieces  on  female  dress, 
**  de  vanis  mulierum  ornameiuis,*'  excited  a  considerable 
interest.     The  editor  of  Fabricius  throws  some  doubts  on 
the  date  of  the  *^  Recuperationes,"  and  if  there  be  lettera 
in  it  dated  1492  and  1493,  it  is  more  probable  that  it  is  a 
typographical  error  for  1493.  * 

»  Diet.  Hist.— StmU. 

«  Moreri.— MafftJi    degli  Scittori  Veronesi.— Roscoe*s  Loreozo  ^nd  L%9,  ,m 
Fabricii  BibU  Xcd.  et  Inf.  Utin.— GrsMwelPi  Politian.— -Saxii  Oaonust. 


3  O  S  S  U.  168 

'    BOSSU  (Rene  LE),  a  distinguished  French  fcrittc,  was 
born  at  Paris,  March  16,  1631.     He  began  his  studies  at 
Nainterre,  where  he  discovered  an  early  taste  for  polite 
literature,  and  soon  made  surprising  progress  in  all  the 
valuable  parts  of  learning.     In  1649  he  left  Nanterre,  was 
admitted  a  canon  regular  in  the  abbey  of  St,  Genevieve, 
and  after  a  year's  probation  took  the  habit  in  this  abbey. 
Here  he  applied  to  philosophy  and  divinity,  in  which  he 
made  great  proficiency,  and  took  upon  him  priest^s  orders 
ill  1657}  but,  either  from  inclination,  or  in  obedience  to 
bis  superiors,   he  resumed  the  belles  letters,  and  taught 
polite  literature  in  several  religious  houses.     After  twelve 
years,  being  tired  of  the  fatigue  of  such  an  employment, 
he  gave  it  up,  with  a  resolution  to  lead  a  quiet  and  retired 
life.     Here  be  published  his  **  Parallel,    or  comparison 
betwi:Kt  the  principles  of  Aristotle's  natural  philosophy,  and 
those  of  Des  Cartes,"  Paris,  1674.     His  intention   in  this, 
piece  was  liot  to  shew  the  opposition  betwixt  these  two 
philoisophers,  but  to  prove  that  they  do  not  differ  so  much> 
as  is  generally  thought ;  y^t  this  production  of  his  was 
but  indifferently  received,  either  because  these  two  phi- 
Ibsopbers  differ  too  widely  to  be  reconciled,  or  because 
Bossu  bad  not  made  himself  sufficiently  acquainted  with  ^ 
their  opiqions,  and  it  is  of  little  consequence  now,  since 
both  hav6  given  way  to  a  more  sound  system.     The  next 
treatise  be  published  was  that  on  "  epic  poetry,"   which 
gained  him  great  reputation  :  Boileau  says  it  is  one  of  the 
best  compositions  on  this  subject  that  ever  appeared  in  the 
French  language.     Bossu  having  met  with  a  piece  wrote 
by  St.  Sorlin  against  this  poet,  be  wr6te  a  confutation  of 
iV  for  which  favour  Boileau  was  extremely  grateful;  and 
if  produced  an  intimate  friendship  betwixt  them,  which 
continued  till  our  author's  death,  March  14,  1680.     He 
led  a  vast  number  of  manuscript  volumes,  which  are  Jcept 
in  the  abbey  of  St.  John  de  Chartres. 

.  Bossu's  treatise  on  the  epic  was  long  thought  ^  stan- . 
dard   book,  even  in   this  country,  being   translated  into. 
EhgUsb  in  1719,  2  vols.  8vo,  and  there  are,  undoubtedly, 
m^ny  just  remarks  in  it,  but  he  is  too  visionary  and  fan*, 
tastiq'  for  the  present  more  refined  state  of  public  taste. 
His  notion  that  Homer  fixed  on  some  moral  truth  or  axiom, ; 
and  then  added  a  fable  or  story,  in  which  it  was  of  little 
consequence  whether  ^raen  or  beasts  were  the  heroes  and 
ipeakers,  has  been  acutely  exposed  by  Drs.  Blair  and. 

M  2 


164  BOSS  U. 

'Wartoii.  The  first  edition  of  this  ^  Trait^  de  poemc 
^pique^Vwas  published  at  Paris  in  1675,  and  it  went  through 
fievj^ttl  other  editions.  There  was  one  printed  at  the  Hague 
inlYT4,  which  F.  Le  Courayer  had  the  care  of,  and  to  which 
he  p'^efeed  a  discourse  to  the  abb6  de  Morsan,  containing* 
an  account  of  the  treatise,  and  some  encomiums  upon  it^ 
and  ^me  memoirs  concerning  Bossu's  life. ' 

BOSSUET  (James),  bishop  of  Meaux,an  eminent Fretttjh 
writer  and  preacher,  was  born  at  Dijon,  27tb  of  Septem- 
'  ber  1627.    He  received  the  first  rudiments  of  his  education 
'  there,  and  in  1642  was  sent  to  Paris  to  finish  bis  studies  at 
the  college  of  Navarre.     In  1652  he  took  hi^s  degreefs  in 
divinity,  and  soon  after  went  to  Metz,  where  be  was  made 
a  canon.     Whilst  he  resided  here,  he  applied  himself 
<^iefiy  to  the  study  of  the  scriptures,  add  liie  reading  of 
the  fathers,  especially  St.  Augustine.     In  a  Kttlfe  time  he 
became  a  celebrated  preacher,  and  was  invited  to  Paris^ 
where  he  had  for  his  hearers  many  of  the  most  Itarned  men 
of  his  time,  and  several  persons  of  the  first  rank  at  cOurt* 
In  1669  he  was  created  bishop  of  Condom,  and  the  same 
month   was  appointed  preceptor  to  the   dauphin  ;'  upon 
which  occasion,  and  the  applause  he  gained  in  the  dis- 
charge of  so  delicate  an  office,  pope  IniJoc^nt  XI.  con- 
gratulated him  in  a  very  polite  letter.     When  he  had  al- 
most finished  the  education  of  this  prince,  he  addressed 
to  him  his  "Discours  surTHistoire  Universelle,"  i^hieh  waft 
published  in  1681,  and  is  by  far  the  best  of  his  perform- 
ances.    About  a  year  after  he  was  made  preceptor  he  gav« 
up  his  bishopric,  because  be  could  not  reside  in  his  dlo- 
cese>  on  account  of  his  engagement  at  court.     lit  1680  the 
king  appointed  him  first  almoner  to  the  dauphiness,  and 
the  year  after  gave  him  the  bishopric  of  Meaux.     In  1697 
he  was  made  counsellor  of  state,  and  the  year  foHowing 
first  almoner  to  the  duchess  of  Burgundy.     Nor  did  the 
learned  world  honour  him  tess  than  the  coui^t ;  for  he  had 
been  admitted  a  member  of  the  French  academy ;  andf  in 
1695,  at  the  desire  of  the  royal  college  of  Navarre,   of 
which  he  was  a  member,  the  kipg  constituted  him  th^^ir 
superior. 

The  writings  of  Bossuet  gained  him  no  less  fame  tHan 
bis  sermons.     From  the  year  1655  he  had  entered  the  lists 

I  Moreri — ^Dict.  Hist— -Blair's  Lectur09.--'Bo«les?f  SdUk  of  Fo^^t  WnkkM^r^, 
6ea.  pict— BaiUet  J^puflM. 


B  O  S  S  U  E  T.  16S 

•  * 

ag^ost  the  pixHeatants ;  and  the  mo^t  famous  piece  he  > 
wrote  against  them  was  his  '^  Refutation  du  catechisme  4^ 
Paul  Ferri."  In  1671  be  wrote  another,  intituled  **L'ex- 
fiosition  de  la  doctrine  de  T^glise  catholique  sur  le^pigjREi^' 
tieres  de  controverse.''  This  had  the  approbation^.ofr^ifae 
bishops  of  France,  as  well  as  of  the  prelates  and  ciardinals 
of  Rome.  Innocent  XL  wrote  bim  two  letters  on  the  sub«' 
jecty  and  the  work  was  translated  into  most  of  the  Euro* 
pean  Iftoguages :  M.  Pabb^  Montague,  a  relation  of  the 
Sandwich  family,  was  the  author  of  the  English  translation. 
He  is  said  to  have  brought  back  several  to  the  Romish 
church  who  had  embraced  the  protestant  religion  ;  and  it 
was  for  the  benefit  of  such  that  in  1682  he  published  his 
^'  Traite  de  la  communion  sous  les  deux  especes,"  and  his 
^^  Lettre  pastorale  aux  nouveaux  catholiques.*'  In  1686  hie 
published  his  ^'  Histoire  des  ^glises  protestantes/'  for 
wtiich,  as  well  .as  several  other  of  his  writings,  he  was  sue- 
<^S9fully  attacked  by  Mess.  Jurieu,  Burnet,  Basnage,  and 
several  pther  protestant  ministers.  He  always  distinguished 
himself  jas  a  zealous  advocate  for  t;h^  catholic  religion  ;  and 
so  great  was  his  desire  to  bring  about  a  re-.union  of  the  pro- 
itestants  with  the  church  of  Roo^,  that  for  this  purpose  h(e 
voluntarily  offered  to  travel  into  foreign  countries.  Ha 
foraged,  several*  schemes  for  this  purpose,  which  were  ap« 
|>roved  of  by  the  churohof  Rome,  but. the  succeeding  .war:S 
prevented  his  putting  them  in  execution.  His  writings  in 
.controversy  with  the  protestants,  and  against  quietism,  the 
jreligioQ  of  Madame  Guion,  Fenelon,  and  many  pf  the  pious 
FrencJ),  make  several  volumes. 

There  ^e  still  extant  several  of  his  very  celebrated  fu.- 
neral  orations,  particularly  those  on  the  queen-mother  qf 
f  r^nce  in  1667,  on  the  queen  of  Englalid  1669,  on  the 
fdauphiness  1670,  on  the  queen  of  France  1683,  on  the 
princess  Palatine  1685,  on  chancellor  le  Tellier  1686,  ou 
(the  prince  de  Cond6,  Louis  de  Bourbon  1687.  These  are 
printed  in  the  '^  Recueil  de  Diverses  Oraisons  Funebres,V 
3  vols.  1712,  a  neglected  book,  but  containing  the  bei^: 
specimens  of  French  oratory.  Nor,  amidst  all  the  great  af- 
fairs in  which  he  was  eqiployed,  did  he  neglect  the  duty  of 
his  diocese.  The  '*  Statuts  Synodaux,*'  which  he  published 
in  .162^1,  and  several  ocher  of  his  pieces,  shew  bow  attentive 
he  was  to  maintain  regularity  of  discipline.  After  having 
Vf&BkX,  a  UHe  io  the  service  of  the  church,  he  died  at  Paris, 
April  12|  1704^  and  was  buried  .^t  Mea^xj  where, his  far 


^ 


166  B  O  S  S  U  E  T. 

nefal  was  honoured  with  the  presence  of  m&ny  prelates  his 

friends,  and  an  oration  pronounced  in  his  praise  by  fsitfaer 

de  la  Rue  the  Jesuit.     The  same  honour  was  likewise  paid 

to  his  memory  at  Paris,  in  the  college  of  Navarre,  where 

cardinal  Noailles  performed  the  pontifical  ceremonies^  and 

the  funeral  oration  was  spoken  by  a  doctor  of  the  house. 

"Nor  was  Rome  silent  in  his  praise ;  for  an  eulogium  was 

spqken  to  his  niemory  ;  and,  what  was  unusual,  was  deli** 

▼ered  in  the  Italian  tongue,  at  the  college  De  propaganda, 

by  the  chevalier  MafFei,  in  presence  of  several  cardinats^ 

prelates,  and  other  persons  of  the  first  rank.     It  was  after* 

wards  printed,  and  dedicated  to  his  illustrioilis  pupil  the 

dauphin.  ' 

In  estimating  the  character  of  this  celebrated  prelate^  we 

must  not  be  guided  by  d'Alembert's  desultory  and  artful 

Eloge,  who,  however,   struggles   in  vain  to  conceal  the 

truth,  that  Bossuet  was,  with  all  his  taste  and  talents,  a  f  u« 

rious  bigot  in  favour  of  the  Catholic  religion,  and  while  be 

affected  to  dislike  persecution,  either  submitted  to  the  ex^ 

ercise  of  it,  or  promoted  it  by  the  asperity  of  his  writings* 

We  shall  come  nearer  the  truth  by  adopting  Bossuet's  cha^ 

racter  as  contrasted  with  that  of  Fenelon  by  the  writer  of 

the  ^*  Letters  concerning  Mythology,"  who  represents  hind 

as  a  prelate  of  vast  parts,  learned,  eloquent,  artful,  Afid 

aspiring.     By  these  quaHties  he  rose  to  the  first  dignities  in 

the  Galilean  church  :    while  another  of  finer  fency  and 

better  Heart   (Fenelon),   humble,  holy,  and  sincere,  «va9 

censured   at  Rome,  and  disgraced   at  the  French  court; 

Both  were  intrusted  with  the  education  of  princes,  and  ac*^ 

quitted  themselves  of  those  duties  in  a  very  different  man^^ 

ner.     The  one  endeavoured  to  make  his  royal  pupil  noble, 

virtuous,  and  just,  a  father  to  his  people,  and  a  friend  to 

mankind,  by  the  maxims  of  his  inimitable  Telemaqne.  The 

other  in  bis  disco \^rses  upon  universal  history,  is  perpetually 

turning  bis  princess  eyes  from  mankind  to  tlie  church,  as 

the  sacred  object  of  his  care,  from  whosd  everlasting  stem 

whoever  separates  is  lost :  and  for  whose  interests,  in  the 

extirpation  of  heresy,  and  aggrandizement  of  her  ministers, 

he  is,  like  his  father  Lewis  XIV.  to  exert  all  the  power  be 

has  received  from  God. 

His  celebrated  ^^  Exposition  of  the  Roman  Gathoiic 
Faith,**  ipentioned  above,  was  designed  to  show  •  the  pro« 
-testants,  that  their  reasons  against  returning  to  the  Romi«h 
ph^rch  ipi^ht  be  easily  removed^  if  they  would  v|ew't|i^. 


B  O  S  S  U  E  T.  1^7 

dot^uies  of  that  church  in  their  true  light,  «nd  not  as 
they    bad    been  erroneously  represented  by    protestant 
writers.     Nine  yean,  however,  passed  before  this  book 
could  obtain  the  pope's  approbation.     Clement  X.  refused 
it  positively ;  and  several  catholic  priests  were  rigorously 
treated  and  severely  persecuted,  for  preaching  the  doctrine 
contained  in  the  exposition  of  Bossuec,  which  was  likewise 
formally  condemned  by  the  university  of  Louvain  in  the 
year  1685,  and  declared  to  be  scandalous  and  pernicious. 
All  this  we  should  have  thought  a  proof  of  the  merit  of  the 
work,  if  it  had  i)ot  been  at  length  licensed  and  held  up  as 
unanswerable  by  the  prot<;stants.     The  artifice,  however, 
employed  in  the  composition  of  it,  and  the  tricks  that  were 
used  in  the  suppression  and  alteration  of  the  first  edition, 
bsive  been  detected  with  great  sagacity  by  archbishop  Wake 
in  the  introduction  to  bis  **  Exposition  of  the  Doctrine  of 
the  Church  of  England,'*  and  in  his  two  '^  Defences"  of 
that  Exposition,  in  which  the  perfidious  sophistry  of  Bos- 
suet  is  unmasked  and  refuted  in  the  most  satisfactory  man- 
ner.   There  was  also  an  excellent  answer  to  Bossuet's  book 
fay  M.  de  la  Bastide,  one  of  the  most  eminent  protestant 
ministers  in  France.    'Of  this  answer  the  French  prei^ate 
(took  no  notice  during  eight  years :  at  the  end  of  which  he 
|>Qhlished  an  advertisement,  in  a  new  edition  of  his  ^'  £x- 
pos}tk>n,'*  which  was  designed  to  remove  the  objections  of 
La  Bastide.    The  latter  replied  in  such  a  demonstrative 
maoner,  that  the  learned  bishop,  liotwitbstanding  all  his 
eloquence  and  art,  was  obliged  to  quit  the  field  of  contro* 
versy.    There  is  a  very  interesting  account  of  this  insidi- 
otts  work  of  Bos8uet,and  the  controversies  it  occasioned,  in 
the  '^  BibUotheque  des  Sciences,"  published  at  the  Hague, 
vol.  XVIIL     This  account,  which  is  curious,  ample,  kccu* 
rate,  and  learned,  was  given  partly  on  occasion  of  a  new 
edition  of  the  ^^  Exposition"  printed  at  Paris  in  1761,  and 
accompanied  with  a  Latin  translation  by  Fleury,  and  partly 
on  occasion  of  Burigny's  ^^  Life  of  Bossuet,"  published  the 
same  year  at  Paris. 

Had  the  French  press,  however,  remained  open,  the 
controversy  between  the  catholics  and  protestants  might 
have  soon  been  brought  to  a  conclusion :  but  other  mea* 
«ire0  were  to  be  adopted,  more  cliaracteristic  of  the  genius 
of  popery^  Bossuet  has  been  praised  by  must  French 
writers  for  his  laudable  attempts  to  promote  an  union  be< 
tweep  tb^  catholic  and  refocmed  churches  of  France.     Thf 


I6S  B  O  S  S  U  ^  T. 

I  ■ 

basis  of  tbb  union  was  not  very  promisiDg.  The  reformeli 
were  to  give  up  every  thing,  the  catholics  nothing,  and  the 
subsequent  practice  was  worse  tb»n  this  principle.  In  th^ 
*^  Memoirs  pour  servir  ^  Thistoire  des  Refugies  Franigois  4aas 
}es  etats  ^xi  Koi,"  or  Memoirs  of  the  French  refugees  in 
the  dominions  of  the  king  of  Prussia,  by  Messrs.  Erman 
9indReclam,  published  at  Berlin  in  1782,  we  have  a  curious 
developement  of  the  plan  of  union,  as  detected  by  the 
celebrated  Claude.  The  reformed  church  of  Paris,  which 
was  a  considerable  edifice,  was  to  be  surrounded  with 
troops;  the  archbishop  of  Paris  aud  the  bishop  of  Meaux 
(Bossuet)  accompanied  with  a  train  of  priests  'and  the  Ueu*v 
tenant  of  the  police,  were  to  march  thither  in  procession^ 
during  divine  service  :  one  of  these  prelates  was  to  mount 
the  pulpit  and  summon  the  congregation  to  submit  to  the. 
mother  church  and  re-unite;  a  number  of  Roman  Catholic^ 
posted  for  the  purpose  in  different  parts  of  the  church,  as 
if  they  belonged  to  it,  were  to  answer  the  prelate's .  sum* 
mons,  by  crying  out  ^^re-uniouP'  after  which  the  other 
prelate  was  to  give  the  congregation  a  public  absolution 
from  the  charge  of  heresy,  and  to  receive  the  new  pre** 
tended  converts  into  the  bosom  o£  the  church ;  and  this 
scandalous  farce  was  to  be  imposed  upon  the  would  for  aift 
actual  re-union.  This  plan  affords  a  tolerable  specimen  of 
Bossuet  as  a  prelate,  and  a  man  of  candour ;  and  it  is  wor- 
thy of  notice,  that  his  associate  in  this  ex^pedition,  was  the 
libertine  Harlai,  archbishop  of  Paris,  whose  life  and  death 
were  ^o  scandalous,  that  not  a  single  curate  could  be  founds 
among  the  most  unprincipled  part  of  the  Romish  clergy, 
who  would  undertake  to  preach  his  funeral  sermon, 

Bpssuet's  works  were  published  in  1 743,  in  20  vols,-  ^tq, 
and  some  of  them  have  been  often  reprinted  in  variou« 
forms.  His  controversial  works  are  no  longer  read,  but  his 
Essay  oh  universal  history,  and  his  Sermons,  particularly 
the  funeral  orations  above-mentioned,  still  preserve  their  re«<* 
putation.  In  1800  Mr.  Jemingbam  translated  and  pub^ 
Jished  some  *^  Select  Sermons,"  and  very  recently  the^x^ 
pectations  of  the  French  public  were  raised  by  the  publi-r 
cation  of  some  inedited  pieces  by  Bossuet,  which,  howeveiv 
ere,  thought  to  be  spurious.  ^ 

BOSTON  (John),  a  monk  of  St.  Edmund's  bury  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  who  is  thought  to  have  died  in 

»  J)ict  Hist.— Moreri.— D'Aletobert'6  Eulogy.— Month.  Rev.  vol.  XXVllW 
atui  LXVnL-^Moslieim's  Eccl.  Hi»t,— life  by  BarisDy.-*SaxU  Onomait 


BOSTON,  I6f 

14 1  a,  was  one  of  the  first  collectors  of  the  lives  of  English 
writers,  and  the  precursor  of  Leland,  Bale,  and  Pitts.     Ha 
^searched  indefatigabiy  all  the  libraries  of  the  kingdocn,  and 
wiote  a  catalogue  of  the  authors,  with  short  opiuions  of 
theoi.  Archbishop  Usher  bad  the  most  curious  MS  qopy  of 
this  book,  which  becaaie  afterwards  Mr.  Thomas  Gale's  pro- 
perty.    Wood  mentions^  another  smaller  catalogjue  of  his 
writing.     He  wrote  also    ^^  Speculum  ccenobitarum,''    in 
which  be  gives  the  origin  and  progress  of  monacbism  ; 
and  a  history  of  bis  own  monastery.     '^  De  rebus  coenobit 
mi/'    which  last  is  lost,  but  the  former  was  printed  at 
Oxford  1722,  8vo,  by  Hall  at  the  end  of  "  Trivet.  Annal."  * 
BOSTON  (TaoMAS),  a  popular  and  learned  Scotch  di« 
vine,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Dunse,  March   17,  1676, 
and  educated  at  the  grammar  school  of  that  place,,  where 
he  was  taught  the  elements  of  Latin,  Greek,  rhetoric,  and 
aritfa«aetic.     In  1692,  be  went  to  the  university  of  Edin- 
burgh, where  be  went  through  the  usual  courses  for  three 
years,  and  entered'on  the  study  of  divinity.     In  1695,  he 
returned  home  with  ample  testimonials  of  his  diligence  and 
good  character.     Next  year  he  taught  school  at  Glencairn 
for  a  short  time,  and  then  was  appointed  tutor  to  a  young 
gentleman  of  family  at  Edinburgh,  where  he  continued  the 
study  of  divinity,  until  be  accompanied  his  pupil  into  the 
country.     In  1699,  after  the  usual  trials  before  the  presby- 
tery, he  was  licenced  to  preach  the  gospel,  as  a  probationer 
for  the  ministry,  agreeably  to  the  forms  of  the  church  .of 
'  Scotland,  and  in  September  of  that  year  was  ordained  to  the 
living  of  Simprin,  one  of  the  smallest  in  Scotland.     In  the 
following  year  be  married  Katherine  Brown,  whom  he  de- 
scribes as  a  woman  possessed  of  many  valuable  qualifica* 
tions.     In  May  1707,  he  exchanged  the  living  of  Simprin 
for  that  of  Etterick,  on  which  he  remained  until  his  death. 
Aboot  this  tia>e  he  began  to  improve  his  knowledge  in  the 
Hebrew,  having  before  only  read  the  Psalter,   but  1771 
was,  according  to  his  own  account,    ^*  the  happy  year 
wherein  he  was  first  jooaater  (possessor)  of  a  Hebrew  Bible, 
and  b^an  the  study  of  it  *,''  aiul  some  day,  which  he  for- 
got, in  Oct.  1712,  was  the  happiest  day  in  his  life,  for  be 
then  borrowed  ^*  Crosses  Taghmical  Art.'^     More  than  half 
his  cares  and  anxieties  after  this  related  to  the  Hebrew  ac- 
4^nts«    About  this  time,  he  was  one  of  the  clergy  of  Scot* 

* 

1  Bale  and  PitU.-oTsnner.-^FttUti's  Worthief . 


170  BO  S  TO  isT. 

lAnd,  who  refused  taking  the  oath  of  abjuration,  and  in 
dread  of  the  penalty,  made  over  his  little  property  to  one  of 
his  sons,  and  another  person,  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
the  penalty  was  ever  levied.  Returning  in  1715  to  the 
study  of  the  "  Taghmical  Art,"  after  incredible  pains,  he 
found  that  he  could  make  nothing  of  it ;  but  still  perse* 
vering,  he  became  persuaded  that  the  accents  are  the  key 
to  the  true  version  of  the  Hebrew  text,  and  the  intrinsic 
light  which  illuminates  it.  Compared  to  this,  as  to  him, 
the  digging  in  the  mines  of  Peru  was  but  a  trifle.  From 
this  time  he  began  to  write,  as  leisure  j>ermitted,  a  work 
t)n  the  accents,  accompanying  his  labours  with  constant 
prayer,  particularly  that  he  might  be  instructed  in  the  se- 
crets of  double  accentuation,  which  he  had  not  been  able  to 
comprehend.  All  this  zeal  and  industry  at  length  produced 
an  ^'  Essay  on  the  Hebrew  accentuation,^'  which  he  exhibited 
in  manuscript  to  some  learned  friends,  who  gave  him  various 
degrees  of  encouragement,  but  he  often  met  with  delays 
and  evasions  which  occasioned  great  uneasiness  to  the  good 
man.  It  being  supposed  that  there  were  few  persons  in 
Great  Britain  very  much  interested  in  the  Hebrew  accents, 
he  was  advised  to  translate  it  into  Latin  that  it  might  circu* 
late  among  the  learned  on  the  continent.  Accordingly  he 
began  bis  translation,  and  as  a  help  to  his  style,  he  men- 
tions the  following  expedient,  which  perhaps  others  have 
made  use  of  on  similar  occasions.  ^^  Ais  I  went  on,  I  read 
something  of  Cicero,  in  my  leisure  hours,  for  the  lan- 
guage, and  noted  in  a  book  some  terms  and  phrases,  taken 
from  him  and  others :  particularly  out  of  Calepin's  dic- 
tionary, which  Providence  had  in  the  year  1724  laid  to  my 
hand,  when  1  knew  not  for  what  use  it  was  designed,  and 
to  this  collection  1  had  frequent  recourse,  while  I  wrote 
that  book :  and  found  it  to  be  of  good  use  to  me.  I  had 
formerly,  upon  occasion  of  appearing  in  print,  done  the 
same  as  to  the  English  tongue  :  by  which  means  my  style, 
that  I  had  been  careless  of  before,  was  now  somewhat  re* 
fined.''  This  work,  which  he  pursued  with  uncommon  en- 
thusiasm, and  which  was  to  prove  the  antiquity  and  diviniK 
authority  of  the  Hebrew  accents,  was  occasionally  inter- 
rupted by  his  public  services,  and  the  publication  of  some 
of  his  practical  works,  particularly  "The Fourfold  State," 
in  1 720.  Tiiat  on  the  Hebrew  accents  did  not  appear  until 
1738,  when  it  was  published  at  Amsterdam  under  the  care 
of  the  learued  David  Mill,  professor  of  Oriental  languages 


.BOSTON.  171 

in  the  uniirersity  of  Utrecht,  in  a  quarto  irolome  entitled 
*^  Thomas  Boston  ecclesise  A^ricensis  apod  Scotos  pastoris^ 
Tractatus  Stigmologicus  Hebr»o*Biblicus,"  dedicated  to 
sir  Richard  Ellys,  who  had  been  very  frigidly  to  Boston  in 
the  prosecution  of  bis  studies  on  this  subject.  Mr.  Boston 
died  May  20,  1732.  His  works  in  practical  divinityi,  which 
iHre  still  well  known  and  popular  in  Scotland,  were  collected 
in  a  large  fol.  Tolume  in  1768,  and  siace  that  time  others, 
particularly  his  "  Body  of  Divinity,"  3  vols.  8vo.  1773,  have 
been  published  from  his  MSS.  but  this  last  mentioned  work 
is  eked  out  by  extracts  from  other  authors  without  acknow* 
ledgment,  a  disingenuous  artifice  of  which  the  author  never 
would  have  been  guilty.  The  most  remarkable  of  bis 
posthumous  pieces  is  the  ^'  Memoirs  of  his  Life,  Time,  and 
Writings,"  written  by  himself,  a  closely  printed  octavo 
volume,  1 776.  This  is  in  the  form  of  a  diary,  tedious  and 
mmute  beyond  all  precedent,  but  evincing  a  wonderful 
aimplicity  of  heart,  ignorance  of  the  world,  and  a  mind 
continually  harrassed  by  conscientious  scruples  about  the 
merest  trifles ;  much  of  it,  however,  may  be  interesting  to 
curious  inquirers,  as  e^^hibiting  characteristics  of  the  man- 
ners and  sentiments  of  the  Scotch  clefgy  of  the  seventeenth 
and  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  ^ 

BOS  WELL  (James),  the  friend  and  biographer  of  Dr. 
Johnson,  was  the  eldest  son  of  Alexander  Boswell,  lord 
Attchinleck,  one  of  the  judges  in  the  supreme  courts  of 
session  and  justiciary  in  Scotland.  He  was  born  at  Edin* 
burgh,  Oct  29,  1740,  and  received  the  first  rudiments  of 
education  in  that  city.  He  afterwards  studied  civil  law  in 
the  universities  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow.  During  his 
residence  in  these  cities,  he  acquired  by  the  society  of  the 
English  gentlemen  who  were  students  in  the  Scotch  col- 
leges, that  remarkable  predilection  for  their  manners, 
which  neither  the  force  of  education,  or  national  prejudice^ 
cooid  ever  eradicate.  But  his  most  intimate  acquaintance 
at  this  period  was  the  rev.  Mr.  Temple,  a  worthy,  learned, 
and  pious  divine,  whose  well-^written  character  of  <  Gray  has 
been  adopted  both  by  I>r.  Johnson  and  Mason  in  the  life 
of  that  poet.  Mr.  Boswell  imbibed  early  the  ambition  of 
distinguishing  himself  by  his  literary  talents,  and  had  the 
good  fortune  to  obtain  the  patronage  of  the  late  lord  So*> 
merviUe.     This  nobleman  treated  him  with  the  most  flat* 

I  Mcmoiii  ttbi  lupra. 


172  B  O  S  W  E  L  L. 

teriog  kindness;  and -Mr.  Bos  well  ever  iremenbered  widi 
gratitude  tbe  friendship  he  so  long  enjoyed  with  this  wor* 
tby  peer.  Haviag  always  entertained  an  exalted  idea  of 
the  felicity  of  Londan,  ii>  tbe  year  1760  he  visited  that  ca^ 
pital ;  in  the  noanners  and  amusements  of  which  be  fouiid 
ao  much  that  was  congenial  to  his  own  taste  ,and  feelings^ 
that  it  became  ever  after  his  favourite  residence,  whither 
he  always  returned  /rotn  his  estate  in  Scotland,  and  from 
his  various  rambles  in  different  parts  of  Europe,  with  ia«> 
creasing  eagerness  and  delight;  and  we  fiad  him,  nearly^ 
twenty  years  afterwards,  condemning  Scotland  as  too  narrow 
a  sphere,  and  wishing  to  make  his  chief  residence  in  London, 
which  he  calls  the  great  scene  of.  ambition  and  instruction. 
He  was,  doubtless,  confirmed  in  this  attachment  to  the  me*^ 
tropolis  by  the  strong  predilection  entertained  towards  it 
by  his  friend  Dr.  Johnson^-  Whose  sentiments. on  tliis  sub- 
ject Mr.  Boswell  details  in  various  parts  of  his  life  of  that 
great  man,  and  which  are  corroborated  by  every  one  in 
pursuit  of  literary  and  intellectual  attainments. 

The  politeness,  af^OE^bility,  and  insinuating  urbanity  of 
BKUQuers,  which  distinguished  Mr.  Boswell,  introduced  him 
into  tbe  company  of  many  eminent  and  learned  men,  whose 
acquaintance  and  friendship  he  cultivated  with  the  greatest 
assiduity.  In  truth,  the  esteem  and  approbation  of  learned 
men  $eemto  have  been  one  chief  abject. of  bis  liteiuryam«< 
bition  ;  and  we  find  him  so* successful  in  pursuing  his  end^ 
that  be  enumerated  some  of  the  greatest  men  in  Scotland 
among  his  friends  even  before  he  left  it  for  the  first  time; 
Notwithstanding  Mr.  Boswell  by  his  education  was  intended 
for  the  bar,  yet  be  was  himself  earnestly  bent  at  this  pe^ 
ciod  upon  obtaining  a  commission  in  the  guards,  and  soli* 
cited  ilord  Auchinleok's  acquiescence ;  but  returned,  how* 
ever,  by  his  desire,  iaaito  8cotland,  whereherecei^Med  avd^ 
gular  course  of  instruction  in  the  law,  and  passed  iiis  tnatt 
asta  .civilian  at  Edinburgh.  Still,  however,  ambitious  of 
displaying  himself 'as  one  of  the  ^^  raanly  hearts  who  guard 
^he  fair,*'  he*  visited  London  a  seoond  time  in  1762  ;  and, 
yaKious  oocurrenceis  delaying  the  purchase  of  a  commis* 
aion,  he  was  at  length  persuaded  by  lord  Auchinleck  to  re* 
linquish  his  pursuit,  and  become  an  advocate  at  the  Scoteh 
bar.  In  compliance,  therefore,  with  his  father's  wishes, 
he  consented  to  goto  Utrecht  the  ensuing  winter,  to  hear 
the  lectures  of  an  excellent  civilian  in  that  university;  after 
which  he  had  permission  to  mak^  his  grand  tour  of  Europe; 


B  O  S  W  EL  L.  *7I 

The  year   i76S  leay  be  cdnftidteved  the  most  ioaportint 
epocha  in  Mn  Bosuveirs  life,  as  he  had^  what,  be  thought  ai 
singular  felioity^  an   iutroduotiou  to.  Dr.  Johnson.     Thia 
eyent,  so  ainspioions  for  Mr.  Boswell^.  and  eyentually  so 
lortijuiate  for  the   poblic,    happened  on  May    16,   1763« 
Having  continued  one  winter  at  Utrecht,  during*  which 
time  he  visited  several  parts  oi  the  Netherlands,  he  com^ 
m^iced  bis  projected  travels*     Passing  from  Utrecht  into 
Germany,  be  pursued  his  ronte  through  Switzerland  to  Ge*« 
neva ;  whence  he  crossed  the  Alps  into  Italy,  having  vasitcfd 
on  his  journey  Voltaire  at  Ferney,  and  Rousseaia  in  the 
wilds  of  NeufchateL     Mr.  Boswell  continued  some  time  m 
Italy,  where  he  met  and  associated  with  lord  Mouifitstnarti. 
to   whom  be  afterwards  dedicated  bis  Theses  Juridicsv 
Having  visited   the  most  remarkable  cities  in  Italy,  Mr. 
Boswell  sailed  to  Corsica,  travelled  over  every  part  of  tbao. 
island,,  and  obtained  the  friendship  of  the  illustrious  Pas« 
quale  de  Paoli,  in  whose  palace  he  resided  during  bis  stay 
at  Corsica.     He  aft^wards  went  to  Paris,  whence  he  re*- 
turned  to  Scotland  in  1766,  and  soo(i  after  became  an  ad* 
yocate  at  the  Scotch  ban     The  celebrated  Dongias  cause 
was  at  that  time  a  subject  of  general  discussion.     Mr.  Bos-t 
weU  published  the  ^^  Essence  of  the  Douglas  cause ;''  a 
pan^phlet  which  contributed  to  procure  Mr.  Douglas  the 
popularity  which  he  at  that  time  possessed.     In  176d  Mr, 
Boswell  published  his  *^  Account  of  Corsica,  with  memotra 
of  General  Paoli."   Of  this  printed  performance  Dr.  Joho-'> 
son  thus  expresses  himself:  ^*  Your  journal  is  curious  and 
daligktftil.     I  know  not  whether  I  could  name  any  narra- 
tiva  by  which  curiosity  is  better  excited  or  better  gratified*'^ 
This  book  has  been  translated  into  the  German,  Dutch,. 
Italian,  and  Freacb  languages ;  and  was  received  with  ex- 
traordinary approbation.     In  the  following  winter,  the.  the- 
atre-royal at  Edinburgh,  hitherto  restrained  by  party-spirit^ 
was  opened.     On  this  occasion  Mr.  Boswell  was  solicited 
by  David  Ross,  esq;  to  write  a  prologue.     The  effect  of 
this  prologue  upoii  the  audience  was  highly  flattering  to  the 
autbor^  and  beneficial  to  the  manager ;  as  it  secured  to  the 
*  latter^.,  by  the  annihilation  of  the  opposition  which' bad 
been  tiU  .that  time  too  suocessfully  exerted  against  him, 
the  uninterrupted  possessicm  of  his  patent,  which  he  en- 
joyed till  his  death,  which  happened  in  September  1790. 
Mx.  Boswell  attended  his  funeral  as  chief  mourner,  and 
p^d  the  last  bonouni  to  a  man  with  whom  be  bad  spent 
n^any  a  pleasant  hour. 


17*  B  O  S  W  E  L  L. 

In  1769,  wat  celebrated  at  Stratford  on  Aron  the  jubiteif 
in  honour  of  Shakspeare.     Mr.  Boswell,  an  enthusiastic  ad-^ 
Boirer  of  the  writings  of  our  immortal  bard,  and  ever  ready 
to  jotii  the  festive  throng,  repaired  thither,  and  appeared 
at  the  masquerade  as  an  armed  Corsican  chief;  a  character 
he  was  eminently  qualified  to  support.     This  year  he  mar*- 
ried  miss  Margaret  Montgomery,  a  lady  who,  to  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  polite  education,    united  admirable  good 
sense  and  a  brilliant  understanding.     She  was  daughter  4>f 
David  Montgomery,  esq.  related  to  the  illustrious' famiiiy 
of  Eglintoone,  and  representative  of  the  antient  peerage 
of  Lyle.     The  death  of  this  amiable  woman  happened  iH 
June  1790.     Mr.  Boswell  has  honoured  her  memory  with 
an  affectionate  tribute.     She  left  him  two  sons  and  three^ 
daughters ;    who,    to  use  Mr.  BoswelPs  own   words,  *^  il 
they  inherit  her  good  qualities,  will  have  no  reason  W 
complain  of  their  lot.     Dos  magna  parentum  virtas.'*     Ii¥ 
1782  lord  Auchinleck  died.     In  1783,  Mr.  Boswell  piib^ 
lished  his  celebrated  Letter  to  the  People  of  Scotlaitd;! 
which  is  thus  praised  by  Johnson  in  a  letter  to  the  authors 
"  I  am  very  much  of^^your  opinion — ^your  paper  contains 
very  considerable  knowledge  of  history  and  the  conistitnw 
tion,  very  properly  produced  and  applied."     Mr:  Boswell^ 
communicated  the  pamphlet  to  Mr.  Pitt,  who   naturally' 
gave  it  his  approbation.     This  first  letter  was  followed  by^ 
a  second,  in  which  Mr.  Boswell  displayed  his  usual  Energy- 
and  political  abilities.     In   1785,   Mr.  Boswell  publisbeid^ 
^'  A  journal  of  a  tour  to  the  Hebrides"  with  Dr.  Johnson;- 
'which  met  a  success  similar  to  his  entertaining  accountof 
Corsica,  and  to  wiiich  we  owe  bis  life  of  that  illustrious- 
character.     This  year  Mr.  Boswell  removed  to  London, 
and  was  soon  after  called  to  the  English  bar,  but  his  pm*^ 
fessional  business  was  interrupted  by  preparing  his  mtist 
celebrated  work,  ^*  The  life  of  Samuel  Johi^son,  LL.  D. 
which  was  published  in  1790,.  and  was  received  by  the 
world  with  extraordinary  avidity.     It  is  a  faithful  history 
of  Johnson^s  life  ;  and  exhibits  a.  most  interesting  picture 
of  the  character  of  that  illustrious  moralist,  delineated  with 
a  masterly  hand.     The  preparation  of  a  secoud  edition  of 
this  work  was  the  last  literary  performance  of  Mr.  BoswelL 
Mr.  Boswell  undoubtedly  possessed  considerable  intelleo- 
tual  powers;-  as  he  could  never  have  displayed  his  coUec-* 
tion  of  the  witticisips  of  his  friend  in  «o  lively  a  manner  a:s 
be  has  done,  without  Ijiiaving  a  picturesque  imagination; 


^K 


B  O  S  W  E  L  L.  175 

fud  a  turn  for  peetry  as  weil  as  humour.  He  hi(d  a  con-* 
siderable  share  of  melancholy  in  his  temperament;  and, 
though  the  general  tenor  of  his  life  was  gay  and  active,  he 
frequently  experienced  an  unaccountable  depression  of 
spirits.  In  one  of  these  gloomy  moods  he  wrote  a  series 
of  essays  under  the  title  of  "  The  Hypochondriac,"  which 
appeared  in  the  London  Magazine,  and  end  with  No.  63 
in  1782.  These  he  had  thoughts  of  collecting  into  a  vo- 
lume, but  they  would  have  added  little  to  his  reputation, 
being  in  general  very  trifling.  Soon  after  his  return  from 
a  visit  to  Auchinleck,  he  was  seized  with  a  disorder  which 
put  an  end  to  his  life,  at  his  house  in  Portland-street,  on 
the  19th  of  June  1795,  in  the  55th  year  of  his  age.  Of 
his  own  character  he  gives  the  following  account  in  his 
journal  of  the  tour  to  the  Hebrides  :  "  I  have  given  a 
sketch  of  Dr.  Johnson.  His  readers  may  wish  to  know  a 
little  of  his  fellow-traveller.  Think,  then,  of  a  gentleman 
of  ancient  blood ;  the  pride  of  which  was  his  predominant 
passion.  He  was  then  in  his  33d  year,  and  had  been  about- 
four  years  happily  married :  his  inclination  was  to  be  a 
%oldier ;  but  his  father,  a  respectable  judge,  had  pressed 
him  into  the  profession  of  the  law.  ,  He  bad^travelied  a 
good  deal,  and  seen  many  varieties  of  human  life.  He 
bad  thought  more  than  any  body  supposed,  and  had  a 
pretty  good  stock  of  general  learning  and  knowledge.  He 
bad  ail  Dr.  Johnson's  principles,  with  some  degree  of  relax- 
ation. He  had  rather  too  little  than  too  much  prudence  ; 
and,  bis  imagination  being  lively,  he  often  said  things  of 
which  the  effect  was  very  different  from  the  intention.  He 
resembled  sometimes  '  The  best  good  man,  with  the  worst- 
natured  muse.'  He  cannot  deny  himself  the  vanity  of 
finishing  with  the  encomium  of  Dr.  Johnson,  whose  friendly 
partiality  to  the  companion  of  this  toiir  represents  him  as 
one  *  whose  acuteness  would  help  my  enquiry,  and  whose 
gaiety  of  ccmversation,  and  civility  of  manners,  are  suffi- 
cient to  counteract  the  inconveniencies  of  travel,  in  coun- 
tries less  hospitable  than  we  have  passed'.*' 

His  character  in  all  its  lights  and  shades  is,  however, 
best  delineated  in  his  life  of  Dr.  Johnson,  a  work  of  un- 
common merit  and  of  still  increasing  popularity.  An 
anonymous  biographer  has  justly  said  of  it,  that  it  was. 
"  found  to  exhibit  an  inimitably  faithful  picture  of  the 
mingled  genius  and  weakness,  of  the  virtues  and  the  vices, 
fhe  sound  sense  and  the  pedantry,  the  benignity  and  the 


pa&isioitatd  hawhness,  of  the  great  and  djtcejlent,  ahhongli 
•  not  confsutnittately  perfect  man,  the  wairt  ot*  wfrose  life  it 
endeavowed'to  uiifoM.  Icaptieait?*  to  be  filledr  with  a 
rich  store  oP  hie  genuine  di^ctates,  se  eloquent  and  wise, 
that  they  need  hardly  shun  comparison  with  the  most  ela- 
borate of  those  works  which  he  hiihself  published.  John- 
son, was  seen  in  it,  not  as  a  solitary  figure,  but  associated 
wiih  those  groupes  of  his.  distinguished  contemporaries  , 
with  whicb  it  was  his  good  fortune,  in  air  the  latter  and 
nore  illustriotis  years  of  his  life,  often  to  meet  and  to  con- 
verse. It  displayed  many  fine  specimcins  of  that  propor- 
tion, in  whicb,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century^ 
literature  and  philosophical  wisdom  were  liable  to  be  care- 
lessly intermingled  in  the  ordinary  conversation  of  the  best 
company  in  Britaiii.  It  preserved  a  thousand  precious 
anecdotical  memorials  of  the  state  of  arts,  manners,  and 
policy  among  us  during  this  period,  such  as  must  be  in- 
valuable to  the  philosophers  and  antiquaries  of  a  future 
age.  It  gave,  in  the  most  pleasing  mode  of  institution^ 
and  in  many  different  points  of  view,  almost  all  the  ele- 
mentary practical  principles  both  of  taste  and  of  moral 
science,  k  showed,  the  colloquial  tattle  of  Boswell  duly 
chastened  by  the  grave  and  rounded  eloquence  of  Johnson.* 
It  presented  a  collection  of  a  number  of  the  most  elaborate 
of  Johnson's  smaller  occasional  compositions,  which  might 
otherwise  perhaps  have  been  entirely  lost  to  future  times. 
Shewing  Boswell's  skill  in  literary  composition,  his  general 
acquaintance  with  learning  and  science,  his  knowledge  of 
the  manners,  the  fortunes,  and  the  actuating  principles  of 
mankind,  to  have  been  greatly  extended  and  improved 
since  the  time  when  he  wrote  his  account  of  Corsica,  it 
exalted  the  character  of  his  talents  in  the  estimation  of  the 
world  ;  and  was  reckoned  to  be  such  a  master-piece  in  its 
particular  species,  as  perhaps  the  literature  of  no  other 
ns^tioiiy  ancient  or  moderh,  could  boast.  It  did  not  indeed 
present  its  author  to  the  world  in  another  light  than  as  a 
genius  of  the  second  class ;  yet  it  seemed  to  rank  him 
nearer  to  the  first  than  to  the  third.  This  estimation  of  the 
character  of  Boswell's  life  of  Johnson,  formed  by  the  best 
critics  soon  after  its  f>ublication,  seems  to  have  been  sinca 
fully  confirmed."  * 

}  Gentleman*8>  European,  and  Monthly  Magazioev  pftniiiu 


B  O  r  A  L  L  U  S.  177 

BOTALLUS  (LEONARD),  an  eminent  physician  of  Pied- 
mont, who  flourished  about  the  middle  of  the  16th  cen- 
tuty,  was  a  disciple  of  Fallopius,  and  took'  his  degree  of 
doctor  in  medicine  at  Padua..  It  appears  by  his  writings, 
that  he  was  a  diligent  observer,  and  enjoyed  a  considera- 
ble share  of  practice.  He  was  in  succession  physician  and 
aulic  counsellor  to  Charles  IX.  Henry 'II.  of  France,  and 
to  William  prince  of  Orange.  He  was  also  skilled  in  th^ 
practice  of  surgery^  and  published,  <'  De  curandis  vulne- 
ribus  sclopetorum,^'  Venet.  1560,  8vo.  This  has  been 
frequently  reprinted,  and  continued,  for  a  long  time,  to  be, 
esteemed  the  most  useful  manual  that  had  been  published 
on  the  subject.  He  wrote  also  '^  Commentarioli  dtio,  alter 
de  medici,  alter  de  aegroti,  munere,"  Lion.  1565,  8vo; 
containing  rules  for  the  conduct  of  the  physician,  the  sur- 
geon, and  the  apothecary,  in  their  attendance  upon  the 
sick.  But  the  work  by  which  he  is  most  known,  and 
which  produced  an  important  revolution'  in  the  practice  of 
medicine,  is  his  ^'  De  curatione  per  sanguinis  missione,  de 
incidendse  venaB,  cutis  scarificandae,  et  hirudin^um  affigen- 
darum  modo,"  Antw.  1583,  8vo.  Though  bleeding  had. 
always  been  occasionally  used  in  the  cure  of  diseases,  yet 
in  his  time  it  was  nearly  constantly  superseded  by  purging 
medicines,  or  it  was  too  sparingly  used,  and  seldom  re« 
peated.  Our  author  made  frequent  recourse  to  it,  lyith 
complete  success,  he  says,  in  .diarrhoea,  dysentery,  in 
fever,  the  plague,  and  during  pregnancy ;  and  flattered 
with  success,  he  became,  as  he  advanced  in  life,  more  and 
more  bold  and  free  in  the  use  of  the  lancet,  and  bleeding 
became  a  general  remedy  all  over  Europe;  but  in  no 
country  was  it  carried  to  such  excess  as  in  f^rance,  where 
the  professors  of  medicine,  for  their^too  frequent  recur- 
rence to  it,  were  held  up  to  ridicule  by  Le  j$age,  in  bis 
inimitable  novel  of  Gil  Bias.  The  works  of  Botallus  were 
collected,  and  published  under  the  title  of  ^'  Opera  Om- 
iia,'*  in  1660,  at  Leyden,  by  I.  V.  Home.* 

BOTH  (John  and  Andrew},  were  two  eminent  Dutch 
painters  and  engravers ;  John  was  born  at  Utrecht,  in  1 6  iO, 
and  was  the  disciple  of  Abraham  Bloemart,  who  at  the 
same  time  instructed  Andrew ;  but  to  perfect  themselves 
in  a  good  taste  of  design,  they  went  together  to  Rome, 
and  resided  there  for^a  great  many  years.    The  genius  of 

>  Gen.  Diet—- MQreri.-*-HaU^  and  Maof  et*^IU«s's  Cydopsdia. 

Vol.  VL  N 

i 


178  BOTH. 

John  directed  him  to  the  study  of  landscape^  in  which  he' 
rose  almost  to  the  highest  perfection,  making  the  style  of 
Claude  Lorraine  his  model ;  and  by  many  his  works  are 
mentioned  in  competition  even  with  those  of  Claude.  The 
warmth  of  his  skies,  the  judicious  and  regular  receding  of 
the  objects, .  and  the  sweetness  of  his  distances,  afford  the 
eye  a  degree  of  pleasure,  superior  to  what  we  feel  on 
viewing  the  works  of  almost  any  other  artist.  John  and 
Andrew  had  very  different  talents,  and  each  of  them  were 
admirable  in  their  different  way.  The  former  excelled  in 
landscape,  the  latter  inserted  the  figures,  which  he  de- 
signed in  the  manner  of  Bamboccio  ;  and  those  figure^  are 
always  so  well  adapted,  that  every  picture  seemed  only  the^ 
work  of  one  master.  The  works  of  these  associate  brothers 
are  justly  admired  through  all  Europe  $  they  are  ^univer- 
sally sought  for,  and  purchased  at  very  large  prices. 
Most  of  his  pictures  are,  for  size,  between  two  and  five 
feet  long ;  but  in  those  that  are  smaller,  there  is  exquisite 
neatness.  They  generally  express  the  sunny  light  of  the 
morning,  breaking  out  from  behind  woods,  hills,  or  moun- 
taidis,  and  diffusing  a  warm  glow  over  the  skies,  trees,  and 
the  whole  face  of  nature ;  or  else  a  sun-set,  with  a  lovely 
tinge  in  the  clouds,  every  object  beautifully  partaking  of 
a  proper  degree  of  natural  illumination.  And  it  is  to  :be 
observed,  that  even  the  different  hours  of  the  day  are  per- 
ceptible in  his  landscapes,  from  the  propriety  of  the  tints  , 
which  ,he  uses.  By  some  connoisseurs  he  is  censured  for 
having  too  much  of  the  tawny  in  his  colouring,  and  that 
the  leafings  of  his  trees  are  too  yellow,  approaching  to 
saffron ;  but  this  is  not  a  general  fault  in  his  pictures, 
though  some  of  them,  accidentally,  may  justly  be  liable 
to  that  criticism,  for  he  corrected  that  fault;  and  many  of 
his  pictures  are  no  more  tinged  with  tbosc^  colours^  than 
truth  and  beautiful  nature  will  justify;  and  his  colouring 
obitained  for  bim  the  distinction  which  he  still  possesses,  of 
being  called  Both  of  Italy. 

Descaaq)s,  in  the  life  of  Both,  after  having  said  that 
John  painted  landscapes,,  and  Andrew  figures,  in  the  maa^ 
net  of .  Bamboccio,  asserts  that  Andrew  was  drowned  in  a 
canal  at  Venice,  and  John  returned  to  Utrecht.;  in  which 
account  he  appears  to  follow  Sandrart ;  though  other  writers- 
agree,  that  it  was  the  landscape-painter  who  was  drowned, 
and  Andrew,  returning  to  his  own  country,  painted  con- 
versations and  portraits  as  long  as  he  livedo  of  which  the 


BOTH;  179 

Other  was  incapable.  The  two  brothers  inutoally  assisted 
each  other  till  the  death  of  John  in  1650;  and  thed  An* 
drew  retired  from  Italy,  settled  at  Utrecht,  and  continued 
to  paint  sometimes  portraits,  sometimes  landscapes,  in  the 
manner  of  his  brother,  and  also  conversations,  and  players 
at  cards,  in  the  manner  of  Baipboccio.  Both  of  those 
masters  had  extraordinary  readiness  of  hand,  lind  a  free, 
light,  sweet  pencil ;  and  that  they  were  expeditious,  may 
be  evident  from  the  great  number  of  pictures  which  they 
finished.  Andrew,  during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  had 
as  much  employment  as  he  could  possibly  execute;  but 
was  so  affected  by  the  melancholy  death  of  his  brother, 
that  he  survived  him  only  a  few  years,  dying  in  1656. 
Strutt  mentions  a  few  engravings  by  both  these  artists, 
but  neither  aJrrived  at  any  great  perfection  in  the  art.  * 

BOTONER  (William),  or  William  Worcester,  an 
ancient  English  writer,  acquainted  with  history,  antiquities, 
heraldry,  physic,  and  astronomy,  was  born  at  Bristol 
about  1415;  his  father's  name  was  Worcester,  and  his 
mother^s  Botoner,  hence  he  often  names  himself  William 
Wyrcester,  alias  Botoner;  and  hence  the  error  in  Pits, 
and  others,  of  inaking  two  distinct  persons  of  the  two  names. 
He  studied  at  Hart-hall,  Oxford,  1434.  He  had  been  exer- 
cised in  wars  above  44  years ;  and  had  so  faithfully  served 
sir  John  FastolfF  that  he  left  him  one  of  his  executors.  He 
wrote  many  books,  the  first  of  which,  that  was  printed,  was 
his  translation  from  the  French,  of  *^  Cicero  de  Senec- 
tute,"  which  he  a4dressed  to  William  Wainfleet,  bishop  of 
Winchester.  He  tells  us  that  he  presented  it  to  the  bishop 
at  Asher  [Esher]  August  10,  1475,  but  received  no  reward 
{'nullum  regardum  recepide  episcopoj.  He  wrote  also  *'  An- 
tiquities of  England  ;"  "  Abbreviations  of  the  Learned ;" 
"  Medicinal  collections  ;'*  a  book  of  Astrology ;  another 
of  Astronomy  ;  besides  a  particular  treatise,  gratefully  pre- 
serving the  life  and  deeds  of  his  master,  under  the  title  of 
'^  Acta  Domini  Johannis  FastolfF;"  "  the  Acts  of  John  duke 
of  Bedford  ;'*  "  Polyandrium  Oxoniensium,  or  mettioirs  of 
Oxford  Students  ;"  and  other  lesserpieces ;  of  which  see 
Tanner  Bibl.  Brit.  p.  115.  His  "Annals  of  England'* 
were  printed  by  Hearne  at  the  end  of  his  "  Liber  Niger 
Scaccarii,"  p.  424— 451.  His  "  Itinerary'*  was  published 
from  a  MS.  not  improbably  the  original,  in  the  library  at 

^  Pilkington.<— Strutt.'— D'Argeaville.^Descamps,  toU  II. 

N  2 


ISO  BO  TONER. 

Corpus  Christi  college,  Cambridge,  by  Mr.  James  Na»- 
mith,  fellow  of  the  said  college,  Cantab.  1778,  8vo.  FuU 
ler  cites  a  boot  of  Botoner's,  containing  all  the  ancient 
gentry  of  the  county  of  Norfolk,  lopg  preserved  in  the 
county,  but  not  now  extant.  He  also  wrote  something  in 
poetry,  as  that  humorous  ballad  in  Nasmith's  edition  of  his 
Itinerary,  called  "  Comedia  ad  M onasterium  Hulme,"  &c. 
and  a  long  cbronographical  epitaph  in  verse,  on  the  lady 
Milicent  Fastolf ;  in  the  possession  of  Richard  Foley,  esq. 
late  prothonotary  of  the  common  pleas.  He  is  supposed 
to  have  died'  about  1490.  The  son  of  this  Worcester, 
among  other  things,  also  made  a  collection  of  several  au- 
thentic instruments  relating  to  the  English  wars  and  gb^ 
vemment  in  France ;  which  he  dedicated  to  king  Edward 
ly.  containing  a  catalogue  of  the  princes,  dukes,  earls, 
barons,  bannerets,  knights,  and  other  persons  of  eminence, 
who  were  of  the  regent's  court  A  copy  of  this  collection, 
in  quarto,,  was  some  time  in  the  custody  of  the  late  Brian 
Fairfax,  esq.  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  customs.  ^ 

BOTT  (John  de),  an  architect,  who  was  born  in  France 
in  1670,  of  protestant  parents,  quitted  his  country  early  in 
life,  and  went  into  the  service  of  William  of  Orange,  after-* 
wards  king  of  Great  Britain.  After  the  death  of  that 
prince,  he  attached  himself  to  the  elector  of  Brandenbourg, 
who  gave  him  a  post  of  captain  of  the  guards,  which  did 
not  slacken  his  industry  in  architecture.  His  first  edifice 
was  the  arsenal  at  Berlin,  and  he  afterwards  signalized 
himself  by  various  monuments  of  his  art.  Frederic  I.  being 
dead,  Bott  conciliated  the  favour  of  Frederic  William,  who 
raised  him  to  the  rank  of  major-general.  The  fortifica- 
tions of  Wesel,  of  which  place  he  was  commandant,  were 
constructed  under  his  direction.  In  1728  he  went  into 
the  service  of  the  king  of  Poland,  elector  of  Saxony,  in 
quality  of  lieutenant-general  and  chief  of  the  engineers. 
In  Dresden  are  several  edifices  of  his  erection,  where  he 
died  in  1745,  with  great  reputation  for  probity,  intelli- 
gence, and  valour.  * 

BOTT  (Thomas),  an  English  clergyman  of  ingenuity 
and  learning,  was  descended  from  an  ancient  family  in 
Staffordshire,  and  born  at  Derby  in  1688.  His  grand- 
father had  been  a  major  on  the  parliament  side  in  the  civil 
wars  3  his  father  had  diminished  a  considerable  paternal 
estate  by  gaming ;  but  his  mother,  a  woman  of  great  pru* 

>  Biog.  Brit  art.  Fastolf,  vol.  V.  p.  706,  note^ — ^Arcbeolof  i«|  irol.  IX.  p.  957. 
— Tanoer.— Warton'i  HisU  of  Poetry,  toI,  IL  p.  119,  486.  i  Diet.  H»t. 


•• 


B  O  T  T.  181 

• 
^Qce,.  contrived  to  give  a  good  education  to  six  childrent 
Thomas  the  yo\ingest  acquired  his  grammatieal  learning  as 
Derby;  had  his  education  among  the  dissenters  ;  and  wat 
appointed  to  preach   to  a  presbyterian   congregation   a 
Spalding  in  Lincolnshire.     Not  liking  this  mode  of  life,  he 
removed  to  London  at  the  end  of  queei;!  Anne's  reign,  with 
a  view  of  preparing  himself  for  physic ;  but  changing  his 
measures  again,  he  took  orders  in  the  church  of  England, 
aoon  after  the  accession  of  George  L  and  was  presented  to 
the  rectory  of  Winburg  in  Norfolk.     About  1725  he  was 
presented  to  the  benefice  of  Reymerston;  in  1734,  to  the 
reejtory  of  Spixwortb;    and,  in   1747,  to  the  rectory  of 
£dgefield ;  all  in  Norfolk.     About  1750,  his  mental  powers 
began  to  decline;  and,  at  Christmas  1752^  he  ceased  to 
appiear  in  tl^e  pulpit.     He  died  at  Norwich,  whither  he  had 
jremoved,  in  1753,  with  his  family,  Sept.  23,  1754,  leav- 
ing a  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1739  ;  and  also  a  son,  Ed- 
mund Bott,  esq.  of  Christ  church  in  Hampshire,  a  fellow 
of  the  Antiquarian  society,  who  published,  in  1771,  A  col- 
lection of  cases  relating  to  the  Poor  laws.     Dr.  Kippis, 
who  was  his  nephew  by  marriage,  has  given  a  prolix  article 
on  hinf/  and  a  minute  character,  in  which,  however,  there 
appeans  to  have  been  little  of  the  amiable,  and  in  his  reli- 
gious opinions  he  was  capricious  and  unsteady.     His  works 
were,   I.  "The  peace  and  happiness  of  this  world,  the 
immediate  design  of  Christianity,  on  Luke  ix.  56,''  a  pam- 
phlet in  8vo,  1724.     2.   A  second  tract  in  defence  of  this, 
1730,  8vo.     3.  "  The  principal  and  peculiar  notion  of  a 
late  book,  entitled.  The  religion  of  nature  delineated,  con-, 
.flidered,  and  refuted,'*  1725.     This  was  against  Wollas- 
ton's  notion  of  moral  obligation.     4.  A  visitation  sermon, 
preached  at  Norwich,    April  30th,    1730^     5.  A    30th  of 
January   sermon,    preached    at  Norwich,  and  printed  at 
the  request  of  the  mayor,  &c.     6.  "  Remarks  upon  But- 
ler's 6th  chapter  of  the  Analogy  of  Religion,  &c.  concern- 
ing Necessity,"   1730.     7.  Answer  to  the  first  volume  of 
Warburton's  Divine  Legation  of  Moses. 

Among  other  learned  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Bott  was  Dr. 
Samuel  Clarke,  of  whom  he  relates,  that  he  was  not  only 
of  a  cheerful,  but  of  a  playful  disposition.  Once,  when 
Mr.  Bott.  called  upon  him,  he  found  him  swimming  upon 
%  table.  At  another  time,  when  several  of  them  were 
amusing  themselves  with  diverting  tricks.  Dr.  Clarke,  look- 
ing out  of  the  window,  and  seeing  a  grave  blockhead  ap- 


182  B  O  T  T. 

proacbingi  called  out,  "  Boys,  boys,  be  wise;  here  comes 
a  fool."  We  have  heard  the  like  of  Dr,  Clarke  froQi  other 
quarters,  and  are  not  sure  that  the  "  grave  blockhead" 
may  not  have  been  the  most  decorous  character.  * 

BOTTARI  (John),  a  very  learned  prelate  of  the  court 
of  Rome,  was  born  at  Florence,  Jan.  15,    1689,  and  be- 
came early  distinguished  for  the  purity  of  his  style,  and 
bis  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Tuscan  dialect.     He  studied 
rhetoric  and  Latin  under  Antonio-Maria  Biscioni,  who  was. 
afterwards  dictator  of  the  Mediceo-Lorenzian  library.  (See 
Biscioni).     He  then  studied  philosophy,  divinity,  mathe^ 
matics,  and  Gree.k,  the  latter  under  the  learned  Salvini, 
His  proficiency  in  these  branches  of  knowledge  soon  made 
him  noticed^  and  he  was  appointed  by  the  academy  della 
Crusca,  to  superintend  the  new  edition  of  their  diction- 
ary, in  which  labour  he  was  assisted  by  Andrea  Alamaorni 
and  Rosso  Martini.     He  had  afterwards  t^e  direction  of  the 
printing-office  belonging  to  the  Grand  Duke,  from  which 
several  of  his  works  issued.     Clement  XH.  made  him  li- 
brarian of  the  Vatican,  in  which  he  arranged  a  cabinet  of 
medals,  which  that  pope  wished  to  be  considered  as  a  part 
i)f  the  library.     On  his  death,  Bottari  entered  the  conclave 
Feb.  6,  1740,  with  the  cardinal  Neri  Corsini.     Next  year 
was  published  by   P.  Marmoreus,  the  edition  of  Virgil, 
Rome,  1741,  fol.  a  fac-simile  of  the  famous  Codex  Vati- 
canus,  to  which  Bottari  prefixed  a  learned  preface.     He 
was  the  first  who  had  the  curiosity  to  examine  tfbis  valuable 
manuscript,  which  belonged  formerly  to  Pontanus,  after* 
wards  to  Bembus,  and  lastly  to  Fulvius  Ursinus,  who  der 
^  posited  it  in  the  Vatican,  when  he  became  librarian  there. 
Benedict  XIV.  being  elected  pope,  who  had  long  been 
the  friend  of  Bottari,  he  conferred  on  him  the  canonry  of 
St.  Maria-Transteverini,  and  that  he  might  reside  in  his 
palace,  appointed  him  his  private  almoner.     He  was  ^so 
a  me|uber  of  all  the  principal  academies  of  Italy;  and  Fon^ 
tanini,  Apostolo  Zeno,  Gori,  and  others,  have  written^his 
eloges,  having  ail  profited,    in   the  publication  of  their 
works,  by  his  valuable   communications.     His   long   and 
studious  life  terminated  June  3,   1775,  in  his  eighty-sixth 
year.     Among  his  works,  of  which  Mazzuchelli  has  given  a 
long  list,  are,  1.  Vita  di  Francesco  Sacchetti,''  Vicenza 
(Naples)  1725,  with  Sacchetti's  "  Nov^Ue,"  8vo*  2."  L'Er: 

>  Biog.  Brit. 


B  O  T  T  A  R  I.  183 

colano,  dialogo  di  Benedetto  Varchi,"  Florence,  1730,  4to. 
S,  *^  Lezione  tre  sopra  il  tremuoto/*  Rome,  1733  and  1748, 
4to.  4.  "  Sculture,  e  Pitture  sacre  estratte  dai  cimeteri 
diRoma,   6cc."  Rome,   1737,   1747,   1753,  3  vols.  fol.     5. 

I  "  Vocabularia  della  Crusca,"  Florence,  1738,  6  vols.     6. 

I  The  Virgil  already  noticed.     7.  "  De  Museo  CapitoUno,** 

i  1750,  3  vols.  fol.     8.  "  RaccoUa  di  lettere  suUa  Pittura, 

Scuhura,  ed  Architettura,"  Rome,  1754,  1757,  and  1759, 
3  vols.  4to;  and  again,  an  enlarged  edition  ^t  Naples^ 
1772.  9.  <<  Dialogbi  sopra  tre  arti  del  Disegno,"  Lucca, 
1754,  4to.     He  also  contributed  to  a  new  edition  bfVa- 

I  sari  and  Passori^s  Lives  of  the  Painters.  ^ 

BOTTICELLI  (Alexander,  or  Sandro,), an  Italian 
painter  and  engraver,  was  born  at  Florence,  in  1437  ;  and 
being  placed  as  a  disciple  with  Filippo  Lippi,  he  imitated 
that  master,  as  well  in  his  design  as  colouring.  He  per- 
formed several  considerable  works  at  Florence,  and  several 
at  Rome,  by  which  he  gained  great  reputation ;  at  the  for- 
mer, a  Venus  rising  from  the  sea,  and  also  a  Venus  adorned 
by  the  graces ;  and  at  the  latter,  he  painted  sacred  sub- 
jects  from  the  New  Testament,  which  at  that  time  were 
very  much  commended.  He  obtained  great  honour  by  his 
performances  in  the  chapel  of  Sixtus  IV.  for  which  he  was 
very  amply  rewarded;  and  for  the  family  of  the  Medici  he 
finished  some  portraits,  and  many  historical  compositions. 
It  was  customary  with  this  master  to  introduce  a  great  num« 
ber  of  figures  in  all  the  subjects  he  designed,  and  he  dis- 
posed them  with  tolerable  judgment  and  propriety;  but  in 
one  of  bis  designs,  representing  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi, 
the  variety  and'multitude  of  his  figures  are  astonishing.  He 
received  large  sums  of  money  for  his  works,  all  of  which 
he  expended,  and  died  in  1 5 1 5  in  great  distress,  and  far 
advanced*  in  years. 

Mr.  Strutt  has  introduced  him  in  chap.  Vl.-of  his  "Ori- 
gih  and  Progress  of  Engraving,"  to  which  we  refer  the 
reader.  Baldini,  according  to  the  general  report,  com- 
municated to  him  the  secret  of  engraving,  then  newly  dis- 
covered by  their  townsman  Finiguerra.  The  curious  edi- 
tion of  Dante  printed  at  Florence  in  1481  (or  1488)  and  to 
wbieb,  according  to  some  authors,  Botticelli  undertook  to 
write  notes,  was  evidently  intended  to  have  been  orna- 
mented with  prints,  one  for  each  canto :  and  these  prints 

1  Diet.    Hist^Haym  Bibl.  ltaliaii.*-MazztrcheUi,   Vol.  II.  part  III.— Saxii 
OaomasticoD. 


V 


184  BOTTICELLI. 

(as  many  of  them  as  were  finished)  were  designed,  if  not 
engraved,  by  Botticelli.  Mr.  Roscoe,  however,  says,  that 
they  were  designed  by  Botticelli,  and  engraved  by  Baldini. 
It  is  remarkable,  that  the  tirst  two  plates  only  were  printed 
upon  the  leaves  of  the  book,  and  for  want  of  a  blank  space 
at  the  head  of  the  *  first  caitto,  the  plate  belonging  to  it  is 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  page.  Blank  spaces  are  lefc 
for  all  the  rest,  that  as  many  of  them  as  were  finished 
might  be  pasted  on.  Mr.  Wilbraham  possesses  the  finest 
copy  of  this  book  extant  in  any  private  library ;  and  the 
number  of  prints  in  it  amounts  to  nineteen,  the  first 
two,  as  usual,  printed  on  the  leaves,  and  the  rest  pasted 
on ;  and  these,  Mr.  Strutt  thinks,  were  all  that  Botticelli 
ever  executed.  Mr.  Roscoe  describes  another  copy  as  in 
bis  possession,  formerly  in  the  Pinelli  library.  ^ 

BOTTONI  (Albertino),  a  physician,, descended  of  an 
illustrious  family  of  Parma,  was  born  at  Padua  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  in  1555  became  pror 
fessor  of  medicine  in  that  city,  where  he  was  esteemed  for 
his  talents  and  success  as  a  practitioner.  He  died  in  1596, 
leaving  behind  him  an  immense  property,  an  elegant  hbuse^ 
&c..  He  published,  l.^^De  Vita  conservanda,"  Padua, 
1582,  4to.  2.  ^'De  morbis  muliebribus,^'  ibid.  1585., 
and  twice  reprinted,  beside^  in  the  collections  of  Bauhine 
and  Spachius.  3.  ^^  ConsiUa  medica,"  Francfort,  1605, 
4to«  in  Lautenbach's  collection.  4.  '^  De  modo  discurrendi 
circa  morbos  eosdem  curandi  tractatus,'^  ibid.  1607,  12ma. 
with  the  Pandects  of  John  George  Schenck.  An  edition 
was  afterwards  published  at  Francfort  in  1695,  Syo,  with 
the  title,  **  Methodus  medicinales  .dute,^'  &c. ' 

BOTTONI  (Dominic),  the  son  of  Nicholas  Bottom,  a 
celebrated  philosopher  and  physician  of  Leontini,  in  Si- 
cily, was  born  the  6  th  of  October  1641,  and  received  hi^ 
education  under  Peter  Castello.  In  1658,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  degree  of  doctor,  and  was  soon  aft^r  ina«le  physician 
to  the  marquis  De  Villa  Franca,  viceroy  of  Sicily,  physi- 
cian to  the  royal  hospital  of  Messina,  and  superintendant  of 
the  physicians  there,  with  a  pension  of  50  crowns  per 
month.  He  afterwards  enjoyed  a  similar  situation  under 
the  viceroy  of  Naples,  iu  1697,  he  was  made  corresipond- 
ing  or  honorary  member  of  the  royal  society  of  London,  to 
which  he  had  previously  sent  his  ^^  Idea  historico-physica 

^  Pilkington^-Stnitt — Roecoe's  Leo. 
•*  Diet.  Hist. — Moreri.— Ualler  and  Manget.  .    -  • 


B  O  T  T  O  N  I.  185 

de  magno  tiitiacriae  terrse  motu,**  which  is  published  in 
their  transactions.  He  was  the  first  Sicilian  physician  who 
had  received  that  honour.  He  wrote  also  ^^Pyrologia  to- 
pographica,  id  est,  de  igne  dissertatio,  juxta  loica,  cum 
eorum  descriptione/' Neapoli,  1692,  4to,  "Febrisrheu- 
matica^  roahgns,  historia  medica/*  Messina,  1712,  8vo, 
**  Preserve  salutari  contro  il  contagioso  malore/'  Messina^ 
1621,  4to.     He  died  about  the  year  1731.  * 

BOUCHARDON  (Edmund),  a  French  sculptor,  was 
the  son  of  a  sculptor  and  architect,  and  born  at  Chaumont 
in  Bassigni  in  169S.  He  was  drawn  by  an  irresistible  pas- 
sion for  these  two  arts,  but  confined  himself  at  length  to 
the  former.  After  having  passed  some  time  at  Paris  under 
the  younger  Coustou,  and  obtained  the  prize  at  the  aca- 
demy in  1722,  he  was  carried  to  Rome  at  the  king's  ex:- 
pence.  Upon  his  return  from  Italy,  where  his  talents  had 
been  greatly  improved,  he  adorned  Paris  with  his  works  : 
a  list  of  tbem  may  be  seen  in  a  life  of  him,  published  in 
1762,  lj2mo,  by  the  count  de  Caylus,  but  some  of  them  no 
longer  exist,  particularly  his  fine  equestrian  statue  of  Louis 
XV.  formerly  in  the  square  named  after  that  monarch.  In 
1744  he  obtained  a  place  in  the  academy ;  and,  two  years 
after,  a  professorship.  He  died  July  17,  1762,  a  loss 
to  the  arts,  and  much  lamented ;  for  he  is  described  as  a^ 
man  of  great  talent,  disinterested  spirit,  and  of  mos^  ami- 
able manners.  Music  was  his  object  in  the  hours  of.  recre- 
ation, and  his  talents  in  this  way  were  very  considerable. 
Count  Caylus,  in  his  ^^  Tableaux  tir^s  de  Tlliade  et  de 
rOdysse.d'Homere,''  mentions  Bouchardon,  with  honour, 
among  the  tew  artists  who  borrowed  their  subjects  from  Ho- 
mer, and  relates  the  following  anecdote :  ^^  This  great  ar- 
tist having  lately,  read  Homer  in  an  old'  and  detestable 
French  translation,  came  one  day  to  me,  his  eyes  sparkling 
with  fire,  and  said,  ^  Since  I  have  read  this  book,  men 
seem  to  be  fifteen  feet  high,  and  all  nature  is  enlarged  in 
my  sight*.'^  This  anecdote,  however,  does  not  give  a  very 
high  idea  of  the  education  of  a  French  artist,  and  a  profes- 
sor of  the  art ' 

BOUCHAUD  (Matthew  Anthony),  a  law-writer  of 
great  reputation  in  France,  was  born  at  Paris,  April  16, 
1719,  of  an  honourable  family.  His  father,  who  was  also 
a  lawyer,  spared  no  expence  in  his  education.     From  the 

1  Diet.  HifW-rMoreri,— Haller  ^nd  Manget  *  Diet.  Hist,— ArgenviUe. 


186  B  O  U  C  H  A  U  D. 

age  of  sixteen  he  studied  jurisprudence  ^th  such  persever- 
ance and  success  as  to  be  admitted  to  a  doctor's  degree  in 
1747.  Being  employed  to  prepare  the  articles  on  jurispru- 
dence and  canon  law  for  the  Encyclopaedia,  he  wrote  those 
on  council,  decretals,  &'.  bat,  for  what  reason  we  are 
j)ot  told,  they  gave  offence  to  the  encyclopedists,  who  be- 
came on  that  account  his  enemies,  and  prevented  him  for 
some  time  from  attaining  the  rank  of  professor,  wiiich  was 
tbeobjectof  his  ambition.  Bouchaud,  however,  consoled 
himself  by  cultivating  a  taste  for  modern  poetry.  He 
translated  several  of  the  dramas  of  Apostolo  Zeno  into 
French,  and  published  them  in  175$,  2  vols.  12mo,  and  in 
1764  he  translated  the  English  novel  of  '^  Lady  Julia  Man- 
deville."  In  the  interval  between  these  two,  he  published 
**  Essai  sur  la  poesie  rhythmique,'*  1763,  which  was 
thought  a  work  of  great  merit.  This  was  followed  by  the 
first  of  his  more  professional  labours,  "  Trait6  de  Timpot 
du  vingtieme  sur  les  successions,  et  de  Timpot  ^ur  les  mar- 
chandises  chez  les  Romains,''  a  very  curious  history  of  the 
taxes  which  the  ancient  emperors  imposed.  In  1766,  on 
the  death  of  M.  Hardron,  he  was  elected  into  the  French 
academy,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the  encyclope- 
dists, whose  dislike  seems  not  ill  calculated  to  give  us  a  fa- 
vourable idea  of  the  soundness  of  his  principles.  This  was 
followed  by  a  law  professorship,  and  some  years  after  he 
•was  advanced  to  the  professorship  of  the  law  of  nature  and 
nations  in  the  royal  college  of  France.  He  was  nominated 
to  this  by  the  king  in  1774,  and  was  the  first  professor,  it 
being  then  founded.  On  this  he  wrote  in  the  memoirs  of 
the  academy,  a  curious  paper  concerning  the  societies  that 
were  formed  by  the  Roman  publicans  for  the  receipt  of  the 
taxe&r  The  body  of  the  publicans  was  taken  from  the  or^ 
der  of  knights,  and  had  great  influence  and  credit.  They 
were  called  by  Cicero  **  the  ornament  of  the  capital,"  and 
the  "  pillars  of  the  state."  The  knights,  though  rich,  entered 
into  associations,  when  the  taxes  of  a  whole  province  were 
farmed  out  by  the  senate,,  because  no  individual  was  opulent 
enough  to  be  responsible  for  such  ex^tensive  engagements; 
and  the  nature  of  these  societies  or  associations,  and  the 
various  conventions,  commercial  and  pecuniary  engage-r 
ments,  occupations,  and  offices,  to  which  they  gave  rise, 
form  the  subject  of  this  interesting  paper,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  various  others  on  topics  of  the  same  nature.  In 
1777  he  published  his  ^^Theorie  des  trait6s  de  commerce 


B  O  U  C  H  A  U  D.  187 

eotre  les  nations,^'  the  principles  of  which  seem  to  be 
founded  on  justice  and  reciprocal  benefits.  In  1784  ap- 
peared another  curious  work  on  the  ancient  Roman  laws  and 
policy,  entitled,  *^  Recherches  historiques  sur  la  Police  des 
Romains,  concernant  les  grands  chemins,  les  rues,  et  les 
marches/'  His  ^^  Commentaire  sur  les  lois  des  douze  ta* 
hies,"  first  published  in  1767,  was  reprinted  in  1803,  with 
improvements  and  additions,  at  the  expense  of  the  French 
government,  and  he  was  employed  in  some  treatises  in- 
tended for  the  national  institute,  when  he  died,  Feb.  1, 
1804,regretted  as  a  profound  and  enlightened  law-writer.  It 
is  remarkable  that  in  his  essay  on  commercial  treaties  above- 
mentioned,  he  tfontends  for  our  Selden's  Mare  Clgusumj 
as  the  opinion  of  every  man  who  is  not  misled  by  an  immo- 
derate zeal  for  his  own  country.  * 

BOUCHER  (Francis),  first  painter  to  Louis  XV.  was 
born  at  Paris  in  1706,  and  was  educated  under  Le  Moine, 
after  which  he  studied  at  Rome.     On  his  return  to  Paris, 
he  employed  himself  on  every  species  of  the  art,  but  espe- 
cially in  the  light  and  agreeable.     His  Infant  Jesus  sleep- 
ing, is  finely  coloured,  and  designed  with  a  most  flowing 
contoun     The  Shepherd  asleep  on  the  knees  of  his  shep- 
herdess, is  a  little  landscape  of  singular  merit     Many  of 
his  other  landscapes  are  peculiarly  happy.     His  other  most 
noted  pieces  are  pastorals  for  the  manufacture  of  tapestry, 
at  Beauvais  ;  the  musses  in  the  king's  library ;  the  four 
seasons,  in  the  figure  of  infants,  for  the  ceiling  of  the 
council-room  at  Fontainbleau ;  a  hunt  of  tigers,  &c.     He 
was  usually  called  the  painter  of  the  graces,  and  the  Aha« 
creon  of  painting  ;  but  his  works  did  not  justify  these  high 
encomiums,  and  seem  to  have  rather  sunk  in  the  estimation 
of  his  countrymen.     He  died  of  premature  old  age  ia 
1770.* 

BOUCHER  (Jonathan),  a  learned  English  clergyman 
and  philologer,  was  born  at  Blencogo,  in  the  county  of 
Cumberland,  March  .12,  1738 ;  and  after  receiving  his 
education  at  Wigton,  under  the  rev.  Joseph  Blaine,  went 
in  his  sixteenth  year  to  North  America.  At  the  proper  age 
he  returned  to  England  to  be  ordained,  previously  to 
which,  in  1761,  the  vestry  of  the  parish  of  Hanover,  in  the 
county  of  King  George,  Virginia,  had  nominated  him  to 
:^e  rectory  of  that  parish.     He  afterwards  exchanged  this 

»  Diet.  Hist—Month.  Rev.  vol.  LIV.  and  LXIV.— Grit.  iUv.  vol.  XLIU.-^ 
Saxii  Dnoraast.  vol.  Vlli.  ^  Diet.  Hist. 


ISS  BOUCHER. 

for  the  parish  of  St.  Mary's  in  Caroline  county,  Virginia, 
When  the  late  sir  Robert  Eden,  bart.  became  governor  of 
Maryland,  he  appointed  Mr.  Boucher  rector  of  St.  Anne^s 
in  Annapolis,  and  afterwards  of  Queen  Anne's  in  Prince 
George's  county,  where  he  faithfully  and  zealously  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  a  minister  of  the  church  until  1775. 
Of  his  exemplary  conduct  in  the  discharge  of  his  minis- 
terial functions  in  the  western  hemisphere,  abundant 
proof  is  furnished  by  a  work  published  by  him  in  the  year 
1797,  intituled,  "A  View  of  the  Causes  and  Consequences 
lof  the  American  Revolution,  in  thirteen  discourses, 
preached  in  North  America  between  the  years  1763  and 
1775."  In  the  preface  to  that  work,  which  contains  anec- 
dotes and  observations  respecting  the  writers  and  most  emi-r 
nent  persons  concerned  in  the  American  Revolution,  he 
observes,  that,  ^^cast  as  his  lot  was  by  Providence, ,  in 
a  situation  of  difficult  duty,  in  such  an  hour  of  dan* 
gei',  it  would  have  been  highly  reproachful  to  have 
slept  on  his  post.  Investigations  on  the  important  sub- 
jects of  religion  and  government,  when  conducted  with 
sobriety  and  decorum,  can  never  be  unseasonable;  but 
they  seem  to  be  particularly  called  for  in  times  like  tho$e 
in  which  these  discourses  were  written — times  when  the 
kings  of  the  earth  stood  up,  and  the  rulers  took  counsel  against 
the  Jjord  and  against  his  anointed,  saying.  Let  us  break  their 
bonds  asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us.*^  fie 
adds,  in  the  words  of  Bishop  Wetenhall's  preface  to  his 
Royal  Sermons,  printed  in  Ireland  in  1695,  that  his  Diis- 
courses  in  America  were  preached  by  him  *^  with  a  sincere 
intention  of  conscientiously  performing  his  duty,  and  ap- 
proving himself  to  God,  in  his  station,  by  doing  what  lay  in 
him  (at  a  time  of  exigence)  to  confirm  the  wavering,  to 
animate  the  diffident,  to  confirm,  excite,  and  advance  all 
in  their  loyalty  and  Hrm  adhesion  to  his  gracious  majesty, 
our  present,  alone,  rightful  liege  lord  and  sovereign/' 
Indeed,  these  sermons  unequivocally  demonstrate  that 
their  pious  author  was  not  to  be  deterred,  by  the  personal 
difficulties  in  which  the  schism  and  faction  that  then  pre-; 
vailed  had  placed  him,  from  maintaining,  with  undaunted 
resolution,  those  doctrines,  political  and  religious,  in  which 
be  had  been  educated. 

In  1784,  long  after  his  return  to  England,  he  was  pre- 
sented by  the  rev.  John  Parkhurst,  editor  of  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew  Lexicons,  to  the  vicarage  of  Epsom  in  Surrey ;  but 
the  same  year  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  bis  first  wife, 


B  O  U  C  H  E  R.  I8f 

who  was  a  native  of  Marylandi  of  genteel  connections,  and 
of  the  same  name  and  fam^y  as  the  celebrated  Josepb  Ad- 
dison, whom  in  many  of  the  great  points  of  his  character 
she  resembled. — Through  life  Mr.  Boucher  enjoyed  the 
society  and  friendship  of  men  of  erudition  and  science ;  and 
on  various  occasions  employed  his  pen,  not  only  in  defence 
o(  those  political  principles  on  which  the  British  monarchy 
is  founded,  but  in  critical  inquiries,  and  in  theological  du* 
ties.  Of  his  discourses  from  the  pulpit  in  Great  Britain, 
two  Assize  Sermons,  preached  in  1798,  have  been  printed, 
and  fully  justify  the  request  of  the  Grand  Juries  to  whon^ 
We  are  indebted  for  their  publication.  He  was  also  an  am- 
ple contributor  to  Mr.  Hutchinson's  History  of  Cumberland, 
The  account  of  the  parish  of  Bromfield,  and  the  very  inte- 
resting biographical  sketches  of  eminent  Cumberland  men, 
Eublished  in  the  same  work,  and  marked  ^^Biographia  Cum« 
tiensis,"  were  written  by  him.  Mr.  Boucher  was  a  patriot 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  word:  he  was  ever  anxious  to  pro- 
mote the  happiness  of  his  fellow  countrymen ;  atid  in  many 
instances  personally  contributed,  either  by  pecuniary  or 
literary  exertions,  to  meliorate  the  condition  of  society. 
In  1792,  he  published  an  anonymous  pamphlet,  subscribed 
*'  A  Cumberland  Man,''  which  was  reprinted  in  the  Ap- 
J)endix  to  sir  Frederick  Morton  Eden's  "  State  of  the  Poor,'* 
published  in  1797^  This  pamphlet  is  addressed  to  the  in- 
habitants of  Cumberland,  and  has  for  its  object  the  im- 
provement of  that  county  in  every  point  which  can  render 
a  country  opulent  and  happy. 

During  the  last  fourteen  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  Boucher's 
literary  labours  were  chiefly  dedicated  to  the  compilation  of 
a  Glossary  of  Provincial  and  Archseological  words,  intended 
as  a  "  Supplement  to  Dr.  Johnson's  Dictionary,"  the  pro- 
posals for  which  he  issued  in  1802,  und^r  the  title  of 
**  LingUGB  Anglicans  Veteris  Thesaurus,"  The  printed 
aid  which  he  collected  for  this  work  appeacred  suffi(:iently 
by  the  library  he  left,  and  which  was  spld  by  auction  after 
his  death.  Few  collections  are  more  copious  in  early 
printed  literature.  A  part  of  this  undertaking  was  pub- 
lished in  1S07,  containing  words  under  the  letter  A.  by 
which  it  appeared  that  the  author's  plan,  including  Scotch 
words,  was  more  extensive  than  originally  intended.  The 
encouragement  given  to  this  specimen  has  not  been  suffi*^ 
cient  to  induce  his  relatives  to  publish  more,  or  to  encou- 
rage any  gentleman  of  adequate  talents  to  attempt  the  com- 


190  BOUCHER. 

pldtion  oJF  the  work.  Mr.  Boucher  died  April  27,  1804, 
leaving  eight  children  by  his  second  wife  Mrs«  James,  wi- 
dow of  the  rev.  Mr.  James,  rector  of  Arthuret,  &c.  in  Cum- 
berland, whom  he  married  in  1789.* 

BOUCHIER.     See  BOURCHIER. 

BOUETTE  DE  BLEMUR  (jAcauELiNE),  a  lady,  who 
merits  some  notice  as  a  specimen  of  French  female  piety  in 
former  days,  was  born  Jan.  S,  1618.  Her  parents,  who 
were  of  noble  rank,  and  distinguished  for  tiieir  piety,  gave 
her  a  suitable  education,  and  from  the  age  of  five  she  was 
brought  up  with  one  of  her  aunts  in  the  abbey  royal  of  the 
Holy  Trinity  at  Caen.  When  eleven,  at  her  owii  earnest  re- 
quest, she  was^admitted  to  take  the  habit,  and  such  was  her 
wise  conduct,  that  only  four  years  after,  she  was  appointed 
mistress  of  the  novices.  She  was  sotn  after  chosen  prio- 
ress, and  then  commenced  her  great  work,  the  *^  Annte  Be- 
nedictine,'* or  lives  of  the  saints,  the  application  to  which, 
however,  did  not  make  her  relax  from  tbe  duties  of  her  of- 
fice. One  of  the  consequences  of  her  biographical  labours, 
was  a  more  enlarged  sense  of  what,  in  her  opinion,  she 
'ought*  to  do,  and  to  be,  after  the  example  of  the  Saint? 
whose  Itves  she  was  writing.  She  blushed,  we  are  told,  to 
praise  and  to  record  what  she  did  not  practise  (not  a  com- 
mon feeling  among  biographers),  and  although  she  knew 
that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  not  to  be  gained  by  ab- 
stinence from  certain  meats,  yet  she  firmly  believed  that  in 
order  to  be  the  exact  imitator  of  St  Benedict,  she  must 
join  that  privation  to  her  other  rules :'  and  had. an  occasion 
to  bring  her  principles  to  the  test,  when  the  duchess  of 
Mecklenburgh  formed  the  design  of  a  new  establishment  at 
Chatillon  of  the  female  Benedictines  of  the  Holy  Sacra- 
ment, and  requested  her  to  be  one  of  the  number.  Ma- 
dame Bouette  assented,  although  then  sixty  years  old,  and 
from  the  rank  of  prioress  in  the  abbey  of  St.  Trinity,  con- 
descended to  the  humble  state  of  a  novice  in  this  new  es- 
tabli^ment,  and  afterwards  jsreferred  the  lowest  place  in  it 
to  the  rank  of  abbess  which  was  afterwards  offered  to  her. 
In  her  last  dayS,  her  strength,  bodily  and  mental,  decayed: 
she  became  blind,  ^d  lame,  and  lost  the  use  of  speech, 
in  which  state  she  died  March  24,  1696,  leaving  the  fol* 
lowing  momuments  of  her  industry:  J.  '*  UAnn6e  Bene- 
dictine, ou,  Les  Vies  des  Saints  de  Tordre  de  St.  Benoit,'* 

}  Life  in  Qent  Mag.  1804,drtva  up  by  ike  late  sir  Frad.  Morton  fidao,  bart; 


B  O  U  E  T  T  E.  X9i 

I 

\ 

Paris,  1667,  7  vols.  4to.     2.  ^^  Eloges  de  plusieurs  per* 
sonnes  illustres  en  piet6  de  Pordre  de  St.  Benoit/*  2  vols. 
4to.     3,  "Vie  de  Fourrier  de  Matincourt."     4.  "Exer- 
cices  dela  Mort.'*     5.  **  Vies  des  Saintes,"  2  vols.  fol.    6.- 
"  Monologue  historique  de  la  Mere  de  Dieu,"  Paris,  1682, 
4to.     These  works  are  written  with  some  degree  of  elegance 
of  style,  but  her  lives  are  replete  with  those  pious  fables 
which  amused  the  religious  houses,  and  those  superstitious 
austerities  which  regulated  their  conduct  in  former  tifmes.  ^ 
BOUFLERS  (Louis  Francis,  duc  de),  peer  and  mar6- 
chal,  distinguished  in   the  French  history^  was  born  Jan. 
10,  1644.     His  dispositions  for  the  art  of  war  having  dis- 
played themselves  at  a  very  early  period,  he  was  chosen 
in  1669  to  be  colonel  of  a  rc^ment  of  dragoons,  at  the 
head   of  which  he  demonstrated  his   bravery  under  the 
marechal  deCrequi,  and  under  Turenne.     He  received  a 
dangerous  wound  at  the  bstttle  of  Voerden  ;  and  another  in 
the  affair  of  Entsheim,  to  the  capture  whereof  he  contri- 
buted much,  by  the  cojifession  of  Turenne.     After  several 
signal  exploits,  be  gained  immortal  renown  by  the  defence 
of  Lille  in  1708.     The  siege  lasted  near  four  months. 
Bouflers  said  to  his  officers,  *^  Gentlemen,  I  trust  to  you  ; 
but  I  aniNrer  for  myself."     Prince  Eugene  carded  on  the 
siege   With  so  much  vigour  that  it  was  obliged  to  submit. 
^*  I  am  very  vfin,"  said  he  to  Bouflers,  "  on  having  taken 
Lille;  bilit  I  had  rather  still  have  the  glory  of  having  de- 
fended it  like  you."     The  king  rewarded  him  for  this  ser-^' 
vice  as  if  he  had  gained  a  battle.     He  was  created  a  peer 
of  France  ;  had  the  honours  of  first  gentleman  to  the  king, 
and  the  reversion  of  the  government  of  Flanders  for  his 
eldest  son.'-  When  he  entered  the  parliament  for  his' first 
reception  in   it,  turning  to  a  croyvd  of  officers  who  had 
defended  LiHe  with  him,  he  said,    "  It  is  to  you  that  I  am 
indebted  for  all  the  favours  that  are  heaped  upon  me,  and 
on  you  I  reflect  them  ;  1  have  nothing  to  glory  in  but  the 
honour  of  h'avi^ig  been  at  the  head  of  so  many  brave  nnren.'* 
During  the  siege,  one  of  his  party  having  proved  to  him 
that  he  could  easily  kill  prince  Eugene,  "  Your  fortune  is 
made,"  returned  Bouflers,  "  if  you  can  take  him  prisoner :' 
but  you  shall  be  punished  with  the  utmost  severity  if  you. 
make  an  attempt  on  his  life  ;  and  if  I  but  suspected  that 
you  bad  any  such  intention,  I  would  have  you  shut  up  for 

1  Morcri.— Dict.Jlist. 


I9i  BO  U  F  L  E  ft  S. 

the  rest  of  your  life."  This  generosity,  which  formed  t 
part  of  his  character,  induced  him  to  ask  permission  to 
serve  under  the  orders  of  marechal  de  ViUars,  though  he 
was  his  senbr.  At  the  battle  of  Malplaquet  in  1709,  be 
made  the  retreat  in  such  good  order,  that  he  left  behind 
him  neither  cannon  nor  prisoners.  The  marquis  de  Bouflers 
united  the  virtues  of  a  good  citizen  with  the  activity  of  a 
gi^neral;  serving  his  prince  as  the  ancient  Romans  served 
their  republic ;  accounting  his  life  as  nothing  when  the 
safety  of  his  country  was  in  question.  The  king  having 
ordered  him  to  go  and  succour  Lille,  and  having  left  to 
himself  the  choice  of  his  lieutenants ;  he  set  out  that  in- 
stant, without  settling  his  affairs,  or  taking  leave  of  his 
family,  and  chose  for  his  officers  a  man  that  had  been  dis- 
graced, and  a  prisoner  of  the  Bastille.  His  magnificence 
was  equal  to  his  love  for  his  country  and  his  sovereign. 
When  Louis  XIV.  formed  the  camp  of  CompiSgne,  to 
serve  as  a  lesson  to  his  grandson  the  duke  of  Burgundy, 
and  as  a  spectacle  to  the  court,  Bouflers  lived  there  in 
such  a  splendid  style,  that  the  king  said  to  Livri,  his 
maitre-d'hotel,  "  The  duke  of  Burgundy  must  not  keep  a 
table ;  we  cannot  outdo  the  marechal ;  the  duke  of  Bur* 
gundy  shall  dine  with  him  when  he  goes  to  the,  camp/* 
This  patriot  general  died  at  Fontainbleau,  Aug.  22,  1711, 
aged  68.  ^^  In  him  (writes  madame  de  IVj^ntenon)  the 
heart  died  last.'*  We  read  in  the  continuation  of  the 
history  of  England  by  Rapin,  an  anecdote  too  honourable 
to  the  memory  of  this  great  man  to  be  passed  over  here  in 
silence.  King  William  having  taken  Namur,  in  169S, 
made  Bouflers  prisoner,  in  violation  of  the  articles  that 
had  been  agreed  on.  Surprised  at  so  unjust  a  pro- 
ceeding, the  marechal,  fresh  from  the  glorious  defence  he 
bad  made,  demanded  the  reason  of  this  perfidious  treat- 
ment. He  was  answered  that  it  was  by  w^y  of  reprisals 
for  the  garrison  of  Dixmude  and  of  Deiiise,  which  the 
French  had  detained  contrary  to  capitulation.  **  If  that  be 
the  case  (said  Bouflers),  then  my  garrison  >  ought  to.be 
arrested,  and  not  V^  ^^  Sir  (he  was  answered),  you  are 
valued  at  more  than  ten  thousand  men.'' ' 

BOUGAINVILLE  (John  Peter  de),  born  at  Paris 
Dec*  1,  1722,  was  educated  with  gr^at  care.  His  talents 
thus  improved  procured  him  celebrity  at  an  early  period^ 

*  Diet.  Hut— Moreri. 


BOUGAINVILLE.  19$ 

antl  obtained  for  him  the  places  most  Battering  to  literary 
men  at  Paris.  He  became  pensionary  and  secretary  to 
the  royal  academy  of  inscriptions,  member  of  the  French 
academy^  and  some  other  foreign  societies,  censor-royal, 
keeper  of  the  hall  of  antiquities  at  the  Louvre,  and  one  of 
the  secretaries  in  ordinary  to  the  duke  of  Orleans.  His 
extraordinary  industry  impaired  bis  health,  and  brought 
on  premature  old  age,  of  which  he  died  at  the  chateau  de 
Loches,  June  22,  17^3,  at  the  age  of  forty-one.  His  ta- 
lents and  personal  virtues  acquired  him  zealous  patrons 
and  affectionate  friends.  In  his  writings,  as  in  his  man- 
ners, all  was  laudable,  and  yet  nothing  shewed  the  desire 
of  being  praised.  With  the  talents  that  contribute  to 
fame,  he  principally  aspired  at  the  honour  of  being  useful. 
Nevertheless,  literary  ambition,  which  is  not  the  weakest 
of  ambitions,  found  him  not  insensible.  Accordingly  he 
was  desirous  of  being  admitted  of  the  French  academy ;  he 
made  vigorous  application  to  Duclos,  at  that  time  secre- 
tary ;  mentioning,  among  other  thin'gs,  that  he  was  af* 
flicted  with  a  disorder  that  was  sapping  his  constitution,^ 
and  that  consequently  his  place  would  soon  be  vacant  again; 
the  secretary,  an  honest  man,  but  of  a  bard  and  rough 
character,  replied,  with  more  wit  than  feeling,  that  it  was 
not  the  business  of  the  French  academy  to  administer  ex- 
treme unction.  He  wrote,  1.  A  translation  of  the  Anti- 
Lucretius  of  the  cardinal  de  Polignac,  2  vols.  8vo,  or  one 
vol.  12mo,  preceded  by  a  very  sensible  preliminary  dis- 
course. 2.  Parallel  between  the  expedition  of  Koiili  Khan 
in  the  Indies,  and  that  of  Alexander,  a  work  of  great 
learning,  abounding*  iu  ideas,  flights  of  imagination  and 
eloquence;  but  sometimes  rather  bombastic.  He  also 
wrote  several  papers  of  very  superior  merit  in  the  Memoirs 
of  the  French  Academy.  In  his  twenty-fifth  year  he  wrote 
a  tragedy  on  the  death  of  Philip,  father  of  Alexander, 
which  is  said  to  evince  considerable  talents  for  poetry;  and 
in  the  Maga^in  Encyclopedique  was  lately  published  a 
metrical  translation  by  him '  of  the  Hymn  of  Cleanthes, 
which  appears  to  have  suggested  to  Pope  his  Universal 
Prayer.^ 

BOUGEANT  (William  Hyacinth),  a  French  Jiistorian 
and  miscellaneous  writer,  was  born  at  Quimper,  Nov.  4, 
I690y  and  entered  among  th^  Jesuits  in  1706.     In  1710, 

1  Diet.  Hist.— iSaxii  QnoniftsticoD,  whert  t|  a  ^it  9t  hit  academical  pajj^r^ 

Vot.  VI.  Q 


194  B  O  U  G  E  A  NT. 

after  finishing  bis  course  of  philosophy,  be  taught  Latin  at 
Caen,  and  afterwards  rhetoric  at  Nevers.  From  that  time 
be  remained  principally  in  the  college  of  Louis  le  Grand 
at  Paris,  until  his  deaths  Jan.  7,  1743,  employing  himself 
in  writing.  Besides  the  part  which  be  took  for  many  years 
in  the  "  Memoires  de  Trevoux,"  he  wrote  :  1.  "  Anacreon 
and  Sappho,*'  dialogues  in  Greek  verse,  Caen,  1712,  8vo. 
2.  ^^  Recueil  d* observations  physiques  tiroes  des  meilleurd 
ecrivains,"  Paris,  1719,  12mo,  to  which  were  added  two 
more  volumes,  1726  and  1750,  by  Grozelier.  3.  *^  Histoire 
des  guerres  et  des  negociations  qui  precedereqt  le  trait6 
de  Westphalie  sous  le  regne  de  Louis  XIIL  &q.'*  1727, 
4to,  and  2  vols.  12mo,  taken  from  the  Memoirs  of  count 
d'Avaux,  the  French  ambassador.  This  history  still  en- 
joys high  reputation  in  France.  4.  **  Exposition  de  la 
Doctrine  Chretienne  par  demandes  et  par  reponses,'*  1741, 
4to,  and  some  other  theological  tracts  that  are  now  for- 
gotten. 5.  "  Histoire  du  traits  de  Westphalie,'*  2  vols.  4to, 
and  4  vols.  12mo,  a  superior  work  to  that  mentioned  before, 
and  highly  praised  by  all  French  historians.  It  did  not 
appear  until  after  his  death,  in  1744.  Besides  these  be 
wrote  several  pieces  of  a  lighter  kind,  as  an  ingenious 
romance,  entitled  "Voyage  Merveilleux  du  prince  Fan- 
Feredin  dans  la  Romancie,  &c."  1735,  12mo ;  **  Amuse- 
ment philosophique  sur  leLangagedes  Betes,''1739,12mo, 
which,  being  censured  for  its  satire,  the  author  was  ba- 
nished for  sonie  time  to  la  Fleche,  and  endeavoured  to  de- 
fend himself  in  a  letter  to  the  abb6  Savaletta.  He  wrote 
also  some  comedies  of  very  little  merit,  but  his  reputation 
chiefly  rests  on  his  historical  works.  *  ' 

BOUGEREL  (Joseph),  a  French  biographer,  descended 
from  an  honourable  family  in  Provence,  was  a  priest  of 
the  oratory,  and  born  at  Aix  in  1680,  where  he  was  also 
educated.  The  love  of  a  retired  life  induced  him  to  be- 
come a  member  of  the  congregation  of  the  oratory,  wh^re 
be  taught  the  belles  lettres  with  fame  and  success,  and 
filled  the  several  posts  of  his  profession  with  great  credit. 
Happening  to  be  at  Marseilles  during  the  plague  in  1719 
and  1720,  he  risked  his  life  in  administering  relief  to  the 
diseased.  He  appears  to  have  been  in  that  city  also  in 
1726,  but  sotoe  time  after  came  to  Paris,  where  he  passed 
his  life  in  the  house  belonging  to  his  order,  in  high  esteem 

•      -  *  Mweri.— Diet,  Hist. 


>  0  U  G  E  R  E  L.  195 

tfrith  all  who  knew  him.     iHe  died  of  a  stroke  of  apoplexy^ 
March  19,  1753.     Just  before  his  death  he  had  prepared 
for  the  press  his  lives  of  the  illustrious  men  of  Provence, 
which  was  to  have  formed  four  volumes  4to,  and  was  to 
be  published   by  subscription,  but  we  do  not  find  that  the 
scheme  was  carried  into  execution  by  his  friends.     During 
his  life  he  published  in  the  literary  journals,  various  me- 
moirs of  eminent  men,  and,  in  separate  publications,  the 
Life  of  Gassendi,  Paris^  1737,  of  John  Peter  Gibert,  ibid* 
1737,  I2mo;  and  apart  of  his  great  work,  under  the  title 
of  "  Memoires  pour  servir  a  Thistoire  des  hommes  illustres 
de  Provence,"  ibid.  1752,  12mo,  containing  fourteen  lives.* 
BOUGUER  (Peter),  a  celebrated  French  mathema- 
tician, was  born  at  Croisic,  in'  Lower  Bretagne^  the  10th 
of  February  1698.     He   was  the  son  of  John  Bouguer, 
professor  royal  of  hydrography,  a  tolerable  good  mathe«» 
matician,  and  author  of  "  A  complete  Treatise  on  Naviga-*- 
tion."     Young  Bouguer  was  accustomed  to  learn  mathe^' 
matics  from  his  father,  from  the  time  he  was  able  to  speak, 
and  thus  became  a  very  early  proficient  in  those  sciences. 
He  was  sent  soon  after  to  the  Jesuits'  college  at  Vanncs, 
where  he  had  the  honour  to  instruct  his  regent  in  the  ma« 
tbematics,  at  eleven  years  of  age.     Two  years  after  this  he 
had  a  public  contest  with  a  professor  of  mathematics,  upoa 
a  proposition  which  the  latter  had  advanced  erroneously; 
and  he  triumphed  over  him ;  upon  which  the  professor, 
unable  to  bear  the  disgrace,  left  -the  country.     Two  years 
after  this,  when  young  Bouguer  had  not  yet  finished  bis 
studies,  he  lost  his  father,  whom  he  was  appointed  to  suc- 
ceed in  his  office  of  hydrogra|)her,  after  a  public  examina- 
tion of  his  qualifications,  being  then  only  fifteen  years  of 
age ;  an  occupation  which  he  discharged  with  great  respect 
and  dignity  at  that  early  age. 

In  1727,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  he  obtained  the 
prize  proposed  by  the  academy  of  sciences,  for  the  best 
way  of  masting  of  ships.  This  ftrst  success  of  Bouguer  was 
soon  after  followed  by  two  others  of  the  same  kind ;  he 
successively  gained  the  prizes  of  1729  and  1731 ;  the  for^^ 
mer,  for  the  best  manner  of  observing  at  sea  the  height  of 
the  stars,  and  thp  latter,  for  the  most  advantageous  way  of 
observing  the  declination  of  the  magnetic  needle,  or  the 
tariation  of  the  compass.     In  1729,  he  gave  an  ^*  Optical 

A  Moreri. 
Q  2 


196  B  O  U  G  U.E  R. 

Essay  upon  the  Gradation  of  Light ;''  a  subject  quite  netr^ 
in  which  he  examined  the  intensity  of  light,  and  deter* 
mined  its  degrees  of  diminution  in  passing  through  dif- 
ferent  pellucid  mediums,  and  particularly  that  of  the  sun 
in  traversing  the  earth's  atmosphere.  Mairan  gave  an  ex- 
tract of  this  first  essay  in  the  Journal  des  Savans,  in  173X), 
In  this  same  year,  1730,  he  was  removed  from  the  port 
of  Croisic  to  that  of  Havre,  which  brought  him  into  a 
nearer  connection  with  the  academy  of  sciences,  in  which 
he  obtained,  in  1731,  the  place  of  associate  geometrician, 
vacant  by  the  promotion  of  Maupertuis  to  that  of  pen- 
sioner; and  in  1735  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of 
pensioner*astronomer.  The  same  year  he  was  sent  on  the 
commission  to  South  America,  along  with  messieurs  Godin, 
Condamine,  and  Jeussieu,  to  determine  the  measure  of 
the  degrees  of  the  meridian,  and  the  figure  of  the  earth. 
In  this  painful  and  troublesome  business,  of  ten  years  du* 
ration,  chiefly  among  the  lofty  CordeFier  mountains,  our 
author  determined  many  other  new  circumstances,  beside 
the  main  object  of  the  voyage ;  such  as  the  expansion  an4 
contraction  of  metals  and  other  substances,  by  the  sudden 
and  alternate  changes  of  heat  and  cold  among  those  moun- 
tains ;  observations  on  the  refraction  of  the  atmosphere 
from  the  tops  of  the  same,  with  the  singular  phenomenon 
of  the  sudden  increase  of  the  refraction,  when  the  star  can 
be  observed  below  the  line  of  the  level ;  the  laws  of  the 
density  of  the  air  at  different  heights,  from  observations 
made  at  different  points  of  these  enormous  mountains ;  a 
determination  that  the  mountains  have  an  effect  upon  a 
plummet,  though  he  did  not  assign  the  exact  quantity  of 
it;  a  method  of  estimating  the  errors  committed  by  navi- 
gators in  determining  their  route;  a.  new  construction  of 
th^  log  for  measuring  a  ship's  way ;  with  several  other 
useful  improvements.  Other  inventions  of  Bouguer,  mad# 
upon  different  occasions,  were  as  follow  :  the  helibmeter, 
being  a  telescope  with  two  object-glasses,  affording  a  good 
method  of  measuring  the  diameters  of  the  larger  planets 
with  ease  and  exactness  :  his  researches  on  the  figure  i|i 
which  two  lines  or  two  long  ranges  of  parallel  trees  j^p- 
pear :  his  experiments  on  the  famous  reciprocation  of  the 
pendulum:  and  those  upon  the  manner  of  measuring,  the 
force  of  the  light :  &c.  &c. 

The  close  application  which  Bpuguer  gave  jbo  study, 
undermined  his  health,  and  terminated  his  life  the  I5ik  of 


B  O  U  G  U  E  R.  197 

August  1758,  at  60  years  of  age.— His  chief  works,  that 
have  been  published,  are,  1^  "  The  Figure  of  the  Earth, 
determined  bv  the  observations  made  in  South  America/' 
1749,  in  4to.  2.  "Treatise  on  Navigation  and  Pilotage," 
Paris,  1752,  in  4to.  This  work  was  abridged  by  M.  La 
Caille,  in  1  vol.  1768,  8vo,  and  was  reprinted  in  1769  and 
1781,  and  in  1792  with  th6  notes  of  Lalande.  3.  "Trea- 
tise  on  Ships,  their  construction  and  motions,*'  1756,  4to. 
4.  "  Optical  treatise  on  the  Gradation  of  Light,"  first  in 
'1729  ;  then  a  new  edition  in  1760,  in  4to. 

His  papers  that  were  inserted  in  the  Memoirs  of  the 
Academy,  are  very  numerous  and  important.     They  ap- 
pear in  their  volumes  from  1726  to  1757. 
*    In  his  earlier  years,  Mr.  Bouguer  had  lived  in  a  state  of 
seclusion  from  general  intercourse  with  the  world,  and  he 
had  thus  acquired  a  cast  of  temper,  which  marked  his  cha« 
racter  in  more  advanced  life.     Although  he  was  universally 
acknowledged  to  possess  superior  talents,  and  to  be  distin- 
guished by  an  assiduity  and  zeal,  no  less  successful  than 
indefatigable,  in  various  departments  of  useful  science,  he 
'  indulged  a  degree  of  suspicion  and  jealousy,  with  regard 
to  his  reputation,  which  disgusted  some  of  those  with  whom 
he  was  under  a  necessity  of  associating,  and  which  dis- 
quieted his  own  mind.     Fully  sensible  of  the  importance 
and  utility  of  his  own  performances,  he  was  apt  to  con- 
sider others,  who  were  engaged  in  similar  pursuits,  as  com- 
petitors with  himself,  and  to  grudge  them  the  reputation 
vhich  they  justly  Acquired,  from  an  apprehension  that  hid 
own  credit  would  be  thus   diminished.     Hence  arose  his 
disputes  with  La  Condamine,  one  of  the  companions  of  his 
voyage,  and  associate  in  his  labours  in  America ;  and  the 
mortification  he  experienced  from  the  public  sufJPrage  that 
seemed  to  have  been  bestowed  on  that  academician.     His 
character  in  other  respects  was  distinguished  for  modesty 
and  simplicity.     The  truths  of  religion  were  instilled  into  - 
him  along  with  the  first  principles  of  geometry,  and  had 
made  «uch  an  impression  upon  his  mind,  as  to  regulate  and 
adorn  his  moral  conduct.     On  his  death-bed  he  cherished 
the  same  ViCws  which  had  thus  guided  him  through  life, 
and  he  closed  his  career  with  philosophical  fortitude,  and 
with  a  piety  and  resignation  truly  Christian. — In  the  year 
1784,  a  very  singular  book  was  published  at  Paris,  eii^ 
titled  "  Relation  de  la    conversion  et   de  mprt  de  Bou«- 
guer,"  by  P.  La  Berthonie.     His  piety  naturally  offended 


199  B  O  U  G  U  E  R. 

ft 

Lalande,  who,  iu  noticing  this  book,  ascribes  his  piety  tn 
fear ;  this  was  a  common  opinion  with  the  French  deists, 
and  had  very  pernicious  influence  on  the  minds  of  theif 
disciples.     Lalande,  however,  if  our  information-  be^  no^ 
incorrect,  lived  to  experience  the  fear  he  once  ridiculed.* 
BOUHIER  (John),  president  ^  mortier  of  the  parlia- 
jnent  of  Dijon,  and  a  menyber  of  the  French" academy,  was 
born  March  16,  1673.     He  began  his  studies  under  the 
direction  of  his  father  (who  was  also  president  a  mortier  of 
the  same  parliament)  at  the  Jesuits'  college  of  Dijon,  and 
finished  them  in   1633  with  great  approbation.     Being  as 
y«t  too  young  for  the  law  schools,  he  studied  the  elements 
pf  that  science  in  private,  and  perfected  himself  at  the 
same  time  in  the  Greek  language.     He  also  learned  Ita- 
lian, Spanish^  and  acquired  some  knowledge  of  the  He<r 
brew.     After  two  years  thus  usefully  employed^  he  went 
through  a  course  of  law  at  Paris  and  Orleans ;  and  in  1 692 
be  became  counsellor  of  the  parliament  of  Dijon.  In  J  7^4 
he  was  appointed  president,  the  duties  of  which  office,  he 
executed  until  1727,  and  with  an  assiduity  and  ability  not 
very  common.     In  this  latter  year  he  was  elected  into  the 
^cademy,  on  the  condition  th^t  he  would  quit  Dijon  and 
settle  at  Paris,  to  which  condition  he  acceded,  but  was 
unable  to  perfprm  his  promise,  for  want  of  health.  Though 
remote,  however,  frcun  the  capital,  he  could  not  remain  in 
pbscurity ;  but  from  the  variety  and  extent  of  his  learning, 
}ie  was  courted  and  consulted  by  the  lit^r^ti  throughout 
Europe  :  and  many  learned  men,  who  %ad  availed  tbeiki«!' 
pelves  of  his  advice,  dedicat^ed  their  works  to  him.     A^ 
length,  his  constitution  being  worn  out  with  repeated  at? 
tacks  of  the  gout,  be  died  March  17,   1746.     A  friend  ap* 
preaching  his  bed,  within  an  hour  of  bis  death,  found  him 
in  a  seemingly  profound  meditation.     He  made  a  sign  tha^ 
be  wished  not  to  be  disturbed,  and  with  difEculty  pro- 
nounced  the  words  J^epie  la  mort-^^^  1  am  watching  death.^' 
Notwithstanding  his  business  and  high  reputation  as  a 
lawyer,  he  contrived  to  employ  much  of  his  time  in  the 
cultivation  of  polite  literature,  and  wrot:e  many  papers  ou 
pritical  and  classical  subjjscts  in  the  literary  journals.     Se^ 
parately  be  published,  1.  A  poetical  translation,  not  iur 
Kplegant,  but  somewhat  careless,  of  Petronius  on  the  CivU 
»  ,' 

1  Hutton's  Mathematical  Diet.— Rees'f  Cyclopaidia.— •Brewster^s  £diiib«r||1| 
]SncyclopecUa.7-Dict.  Hist. 


B  O  U  H  I  E  R.  199 

I 

1 

War  between  Cse^r  and  Pompey,  with  two  epistles  of 
Ovid,  &c.  Amst  1737,  4to.  Alluding  to  the  negligence 
which  sometimes  appears  in  his  poetry,  his  wife,  a  very 
ingenious  lady,  used  to  say,  *^  Confine  yourself  to  think- 
ing, and  let  tne  write."  2.  "  Remarques  sur  les  Tuscu- 
'lanes  de  Ciceron,  avec  une  dissertation  sur  Sardanapale, 
dernier  roi  d'Asyrie,"  Paris,  1737,  12mo.  3.  "  Des  Let-^ 
tres  sur  les  Therapeutes,"  1712.  4.  '*  Dissertations  sur 
Herodote,"  with  memoirs  of  the  life  of  Bouhier,  1746,  Di-» 
jon,  4ta  5.  <<  Dissertation  sur  le  grand  pontificat  des 
empereurs  Romains,"  1742,  4to.  6.  *^  E^icplications  de 
quelqutes  marbres  antiques,"  in  the  collection  of  M.  Le 
Bret,  1733,  4to.  7.  ^'  Observations  sur  la  Coutume  de 
Bourgogne,"  Dijon,  2  vols.  fol.  A  complete  edition  of 
his  law  works  was  published  in  1787,  fol.  by  M.  de  Bevy» 
He  wrote  a  very  learned  dissertation  on  the  origin  of  the 
Greek  and  Latin  letters,  which  is  printed  in  Montfaucon^d 
Palaeography,  Paris,  1708,  p.  553 ;  and  his  <*  Remarques 
sur  Ciceron"  were  reprinted  at  Paris  in  1746.  * 

BOUHOURS  (Dominick),  a  celebrated  French  critic, 
was  born  at  Paris  in  1628 ;  and  has  by  some  been  consi- 
dered as  a  proper  person  to  succeed  Malherbe,  who  died 
about  that  time.  He  entered  into  the  society  of  Jesuits  at 
sixteen,  and  was  appointed  to  read  lectures  upon  polite 
literature  .in  the  college  of  Clermont  at  Paris,  where  he 
had  studied ;  but  he  was  so  incessantly  attacked  with  the 
faead-acb,  that  he  could  not  pursue  the  destined  task.  He 
{afterwards  undertook  the  education  of  two  sons  of  the  duke 
of  Longueville,  which  he  discharged  to  the  entire  satisfac- 
tion of  the  duke,  who  had  such  a  regard  for  him,  that  he 
would  need^  die  in  his  arms ;  and  the  ^^  Account  of  the 
pious  and  Christian  death"  of- this  great  personage  was  the 
first  work  which  Bouhours  gave  the  public*  He  was  sent 
to  Dunkirk  to  the  popish  refugees  from  England  ;  and,  in 
the  piidst  of  his  missionary  occupations,  found  time  to 
compose  and  publish  many  works  of  reputation.  Among 
these  were  **  Entretiens  d'Ariste  &  d'Eugene,"  a  work  of 
a  critical  nature,  which  was  printed  no  less  than  five  times 
at  Paris,  twice  at  Grenoble,  at  Lyons,  at  Brussels,  at  Am-s ' 
9terdam,  at  Leyden,  &c.  and  embroiled  him  with  a  great 
number  of  critics,  and  with  Menage  in  particular ;  who,; 
hpwever,  lived  io.  friendship  with  our  author  before  and 

)  Morerk— Diet  Hist.— Saxu  Onomasticoi).— Hontb.  Rer.  LXXX. 


«00  B  O  U  H  O  U  R  S. 

« 

after.  There  is  a  passage  in  this  work  which  gave  great 
offence  in  Germany,  where  he  makes  it  a  question, 
**  Whether  it  be  possible  that  a  German  could  be  a  wit  ?" 
The  fame  of  it,  however/ and  the  pleasure  he  took  in  read- 
ing it,  recommended  Bouhours  so  effectually  to  the  cele- 
brated minister  Colbert,  that  he  trusted  him  with  the  edu- 
cation of  his  son,  the  marquis  of  Segnelai.  The  Remarks 
and  Doubts  upon  the  French  language  has  been  reckoned 
one  of  the  most  considerable  of  our  author^s  works ;  and 
may  be  read  with  great  advantage  by  those  who  would  per- 
fect themselves  in  that  tongue.  Menage,  in  his  Observa- 
tions upon  the  French  language,  has  given  his  approbation 
of  it  in  the  following  passage  :  "  The  book  of  Doubts,** 
says  he,  ^^  is  written  with  great  elegance,  and  contains 
many  fine  observations.  And,  as  Aristotle  has  said,  that 
reasonable  doubt  is  the  beginning  of  all  real  knowledge ;  so 
we  may  say  also,  that  the  man  who  doubts  so  reasonably 
as  the  author  of  this  book,  is  himself  very  capable  of  de- 
ciding. For  this  reason  perhaps  it  is,  that,  forgetting  the 
title  of  his  work,  he  decides  oftener  than  at  first  he  pro- 
posed." Bojjihours  was  the  author  of  another  work,  "  The 
art  of  pleasing  in  conversation,*'  of  which  M.  de  la  Grose, 
who  wrote  the  eleventh  volume  of  the  Bibliotheque  Uni- 
verselle,  has  given  an  account,  which  he  begins  with  this 
elogium  upon  the  author:  "  A  very  little  skill,*'  says  be, 
**  in  style  and  manner,  will  enable  a  reader  to  discover  the 
author  of  this  work.  He  will  see  at  once  the  nice,  the 
ingenious,  and  delicate  turn,  the  elegance  and  politeness 
of  father  Bouhours.  Add  to  this,  the  manner  of  writing  in 
dialogue,  the  custom  of  quoting  himself,  the  collecting 
strokes  of  wit,  the  little  agreeable  relations  interspersed, 
and  a  certain  mixture  of  gallantry  and  morality  which  is 
altogether  peculiar  to  this  Jesuit.  This  work  is  inferior  to 
nothing  we  have  seen  of  father  Bouhours.  He  treats  in 
twenty  dialogues,  with  an  air  of  gaiety,  of  every  thing 
which  can  find  a  way  into  conversation ;  and,  though  he 
avoids  being  systematical,  yet  he  gives  his  readfer  to  under^ 
stand,  that  there  is  no  subject  whatever,  either  of  divinity, 
philosophy,  law,  or  phasic,  &c.  but  may  be  introduced 
into  conversation,  provided  it  be  done  with  ease,  polite- 
ness, and  in  a  manner  free  from  pedantry  and  affectation.** 
He  died  at  Paris,  in  the  college  of  Clermont,  upon  the 
27th  of  May  1702;  after  a  life  spent,  says  Moreri,  under 
such  constant  and  violent  fits  of  the  head-ach,  that  he  bad 


B  O  U  H  O  U  R  S.  201 

but  few  intervals  of  perfect  ease.  The  following  is  a  list 
of  his  works  with  their  dates  :  1.  **  Les  Entretiens  d^Ariste 
et  d'Eugene,"  1671,  12mo.  2.  "  Remarques  et  Doutes 
Bur  ia  iangue  Fran^iise,"  S  vols.  12mo.  3.  **  La  Manier 
de  bien  penser  sur  les  ouvrages  d' esprit/'  Paris,  1692,, 
12mo.  4.  ^'  Pens^es  ingenieuses  ded  aii/ciens  et  des  mo- 
dernes,"  Paris,  1691,  12mo.  In.  this  work  he  mentions 
Boileau,  whom  he  had  omitted  in  the  preceding;  but  when 
be  expected  Boileau  would  acknowledge  the  favour,  he 
coolly  replied,  *'  You  have,  it  is  true,  introduced  me  in  your 
new  work,  but  in  very  bad  company,'*  alluding  to  the  fre- 
quent mention  of -some  Italian  and  French  versifiers  whom 
Boileau  despised.  5.  "  Pens^es  ingenieuses  des  Peres  de 
I'Eglise,**  Paris,  1700.  This  he  is  said  to  have  written  as 
an  answer  to  the  objection  that  he  employed  too  much  of 
bis  time  on  profane  literature.  6.  '*  Histoire  du  grand- 
maitre  d'Aubusson,"  1676,  4to,  1679,  and  lately  in  1780. 
7.  The  lives  of  St.  Ignatius,  Paris,-  1756,  l2mo,  and  of 
St.  Francis  Xavier,  1682,  4to,  or  2  vols.  12mo.  Both  these 
are  written  with  rather  more  judgment  than  the  same  lives 
by  Ribadeneira,  but  are  yet  replete  with  the  miraculou3 
and  the  fabulous.  The  life  of  Xavier  was  translated  by 
Dryden,  and  published  at  London  in  168S,  with  a  dedica- 
tion to  king  James  II.'s  queen.  Dryden,  says  Mr.  Malone, 
doubtless  undertook  this  task,  in  consequence  of  the  queen, 
when  she  solicited  a  son,  having  recommended  herself  to 
Xavier  as  her  patron  saint.  8,  **  Le  Nouveau  Testament," 
translated  into  French  from  the  Vulgate,  2  vols.  1697 — ^ 
1703,  .12mo.' 

BOUILLAUD.     See  BULLIALDUS. 

BOUILLE'  (Mauquis  de),  a  French  nobleman,  and 
officer  of  bravery  and  honour,  was  a  native  of  Auvergne, 
and  a  relative  of  the  marquis  La  Fayette.  After  having 
served  in  the  dragoons,  he  became  colonel  of  the  regiment 
of  Vexin  infantry.  Having  attained  the  rank  of  major- 
general,  the  king  appointed  him  governor-general  of  the 
Windward  islands.  In  1778  he  took  possession  of  Domi- 
nica, St.  Eustatia,  and  soon  after  St.  Christopher's,  Nevis, 
and  Montserrat.  His  conduct  while  in  that  command  wa» 
allowed  by  the  English  commanders  to  be  honourable  and 
disinterested.  On  his  return,  he  was  made  lieutenant- 
general.     On  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolution  in  1789, 

1  Baill«t  Jogemens  des  SaTaDB.«-Moreri.— iDict.  Hist,— Saicii  OnoDast. 


SM  B  O  U  I  L  L  E; 

finding  that  he  oommanded  in  the  three  bishoprics,  he 
brought  back  to  its  duty  the  revolted  garrison  of  Metz,  and 
on  that  occasion  saved  the  life  of  M.  He  Pont,  intendant  of 
the  province.  He  afterwards  caused  Francois  de  Neuf- 
chateau,  and  two  other  electors,  arrested  by  order  of  the 
king's  attorney,  to  be  set  at  liberty.  On  the  5th  of  Sep- 
tember the  same  year,  the  national  assembly  was  informed 
by  one  of  its  members,  Gregoire,  that  M.  de  Bouille  bad 
^ot  administered  the  civic  oath  individually,  and  a  decree 
was  passed  obliging  him  to  do  so,  la  1790,  he  was  com* 
jyiissioned  to  bring  under  subjection  the  garrison  of  Nancy, 
which  had  risen  against  itd  chiefs ;  accordingly  he  advanced 
upon  the  town  with  four  thousand  men,  and  succeeded  in 
this  enterprize,  in  which  be  shewed  much  bravery,  and 
virhich  at  first  gained  him  great  praises  from  the  natipnal 
assembly,  and  afterwards  as  many  reproaches.  Being 
chosen  by  the  unfortunate  Louis  XVI.  to  facilitate  his 
escape  from  Paris  in  June  1791^  he  marched  at  the  head 
of  a  body  of  troops  to  protect  the  passage  of  the  royal 
family  ;  but  this  design  failed  from  reasons  now  well  known, 
^nd  which  he  has  faithfully  detailed  in  bis  memoirs :  and 
the  marquis  himself  had  some  difficulty  in  making  bis  es- 
cape. From  Luxembourg  he  wrote  his  memorable  letter 
to  the  assembly,  threatening,  that  if  a  hair  of  the  king's 
bead  were  touched,  he  would  not  leave  one  stone  upon 
another  in  Paris.  This  served  only  to  irritate  the  revolu- 
tionists, who  decreed  that  he  should  be  tried  for  contumacy; 
but  he  was  fortunately  out  of  their  reach.  From  Vienna 
whither  he  had  at  first  gone,  hQ  passed  to  the  court  of 
Sweden,  where  he  was  favourably  received  by  Gustavus  IIL 
but.after  his  death,  M.  de  Bouille  found  it  necessary  to 
retire  to  England^  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  security,  and  much  esteemed  for  his  fidelity  to  his 
sovereign.  He  died  in  London  Nov.  14,  1800.  In  1797 
be  published  in  English,  *^  Memoirs  relating  to  the  French 
Revolution,^'  8vo ;  one  of  those  works  of  which  future  his^ 
torians  may  avail  themselves  in  appreciating  the  characters 
and  events  connected  with  that  important  period  of  French 
history*  ^ 

BOUILLET  (John),  a  French  medical  writer,  was  born 
at  Servian,  in  the  diocese  ofBeziers,  May  14,  1690,  and 
<;reat^d  doctor  in  medicine,  at  Montpellier,  in  1717.    En-. 

<  Biog.  Mod«riie.«*Dict.<-*Hi8t.  botb  enoneone  in  the  time  of  bii  dMth« 


BOUILLET,  203 

joying,  during  the  course  of  a  long  life,  a  considerable  por^ 
jtion  of  reputation,  he  was,  in  succession,  made  professor  ia 
inathematics,  and  secretary  to  the  academy  at  Beziers^ 
member  of  the  royal  society  at  Montpellier,  and  corre^ 
sponding  member  of  the  academy  of 'sciences  at  Paris.  He 
was  also  author  of  several  ingenious  dissertations :  ^^  On 
^he  properties  of  Rbnbarb/'  published  at  Beziers,,  1717, 
4to,  probably  his  ''  Inaugural  Thesis.'^  **  Sur  la  cause  de 
la  Pesaateur,^  1720,  12mo,  which  obtained  for  him  a  prize 
from  the  academy  at  Bourdeaux ;  ^*  Avis  et  remedes,  con- 
tre  la  Peste,*' Beziers,  1721,  dvo.  ^^On  Asthma  and  on 
the  Gout,"  in  wh^ch  complaints  he  recommends  the  Venice 
so^  as  a  powerful  auxiliary ;  ^^  Sur  la  maniere  de  traiter 
]a  Petite  Verole,'*  Beziers,  1736,  4to;  and  some  years 
after,  ^'  On  the  best  method  of  preserving  the  district  of 
Beziers  from  that  disease  ;"  ^^  Recueil  des  lettres,  etautres 
pieces  pour  servir  k  Thistoire  de  Pacademie  de  Beziers," 
1736,  4to,  with  several  other  publications.  He  died  in 
]L770,  leaving  a  son,  Henry  Nicholas  Bouillet,  who  was 
made  doctor  in  medicine  at  Montpellier,  and  member  of 
^he  academy  of  Beziers.  He  published,  in  1759,  in  4t0) 
^'  Observations  sur  I'anasarque,  le  hydropesielS^  de  poitrine, 
des  pericarde,  &c."  * 

BOULAI  (CiESAR  Egasse  de),  the  historian  of  the  uni- 
versity of  Paris,  was  born  at  St.  EUier  or  Helier,  and  be- 
came professor  of  rhetoric  in  the  college  of  Navarre,  and 
afterwards  register,  historiographer,  and  rector  of  the  uni- 
versity of  Paris,  where  he  died  Oct.  1 6,  1678.  Of  all  his 
works,  his  history  of  the  university  of  Paris,  ^*  Historia 
Universitatis  Parisiensis,^'  6  vols.  1665-«-1673,  foL  contri- 
buted most  to  his  fame.  The  publication  of  this  vast  un- 
dertaking was  at  first  interrupted  by  some  objections  from 
the  theological  faculty  of  Paris,  who  carried  their  remon- 
strances to  the  king;  but  the  commissic>ners,  whom  his 
majesty  etnployed  to  inspect  the  work,  having  reported 
^hat  they  saw  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  continued,  he 
proceeded  to  its  completion,  and  in  1667  published  an  an- 
swer  to  their  objections,  entitled  <<  Notse  ad  censuram.'' 
Not  entirely  satisfied  with  this  triumph,  he  also  published 
j^  poetical  satire  against  them,  with  the  title  of  ''  Ad  Zoilo- 
sycophantam,  sive  Bulseistarum  obtrectatorem,"  a  work  of 
ppQsiderable  spirit  and  elegance  of  style.     His  history  h 

^  IHct.  Hist.  —Reel's  Cyclopedia. 


204  B  O  U  L  A  L 

an  useful  repository  of  facts  and  lives  of  learned  men  con« 
nected  with  the  revival  of  literature,  and  especially  the  pro- 
gress of  learning  in  that  eminent  university,  and  is  blame* 
able  only  for  the  fabulous  accounts,  in  which  our  awn  uni- 
versity-historians have  not  been  wanting,  respecting  the 
early  history  of  schools  of  learning.  Boulai^s  other  writ- 
ings are,  1.  "Tresor  des  antiquit^s  Romaines,"  Paris, 
1650,  fol.  2.  "  Speculum  eloquentiae/'  ibid.  1658,  12mo. 
3.  "  De  Patronis  quatuor  nationum  universitatis  Parisi-. 
ensis,'*  Paris,  1662,  8vo.  4.  "  Remarques  sur  la  diguit^^ 
rang,  preseance,  autorit6,  et  jurisdiction  du  recteur  de  I'uni* 
versit6  de  Paris,"  ibid.  1668,  4to.  5.  "  Recueil  des  Pri- 
vileges de  r  University  de  Paris  accord6s  par  les  rois  de' 
France  depuis  sa  fondation,  &c."  ibid.  1674,  4to.  6. 
**  Fondation  de  I'universit^,  &c."  1675,  4to.  Boulai  was 
frequently  involved  in  disputes  with  the  members  of  the 
university  respecting  the  election  of  officers,  &'c.  which 
occasioned  the  publication  of  many  papers  on  these  sub-« 
jects,  which,  if  we  may  judge  from  his  extensive  labours, 
he  must  have  understood  very  accurately  ;  and  from  these 
disputes,  and  the  general  bent  of  his  researches,  he  ap^ 
pears  to  have  very  closely  resembled  the  celebrated  histo-^ 
rian  of  the  university  of  Oxford.  * 

BOULAINVILLIERS  (Henry  de),  comte  de  St.  Saire, 
where  he  was  born  October  21,  1658,  of  a  noble  and  au^ 
cient  family,  was  educated  at  Jiiilli,  by  the  fathers  of  the 
oratory,  and  gave  proofs  of  genius  and  abilities  from  hit 
childhood.  His  chief  study  was  histoi*y,  which  he  after* 
wards  cultivated  assiduously.  He  died  January  28,  1722, 
at  Paris,  having  been  twice  married,  and  left  only  daugh- 
ters. He  was  author  of  a  History  of  the  Arabians,  and 
Mahomet,  12mo,  '^  Memoires  sur  Tancien  Governement  de 
France  ;  ou  14  lettres  sur  les  anciens  Parlemens  de 
France,"  3  vols,  12mo;  ^*  Histoire  de  France  jusqu'a 
Charles  VIII."  3  vols.  l2mo;  and  "I'Etatde  la  Francp,"' 
6  vols.  12mo,  in  the  Dutch  edition,  and  eight  in  the  edi-. 
tion  of  Trevoux,  "  Memoire  pr&entS  a  M.  le  due  d'Or- 
leans,  sur  T  Administration  des  Finances,"  2  vols.  12mo ; 
*^  Histoire  de  la  Pairie  de  France,"  12mo ;  V  Dissertations 
sur  la  Noblesse  de  France,"  12mo.  All  his  writings  on 
the  French  history  have  been  collected  in  3  vols.  fol.  They 
are  not  \Vritten  (says  M.  de  Montesquieu)  with  all  the  free^ 

I  Moreri. — Geo.  Diet— »SailIet  Jii|;emtiisde  SftTaiif.^Saxii  Oooma^U 


BOULAINVIJLLIERS.         205, 

dom  and  simplicity  of  the  ancient  nobility,  from  which  he 
descended.  M.  Boulainvilliers  left  some  other  works  in 
MS.  known  to  the  learned,  who  have,  with  great  reason^ 
been  astonished  to  find,  that  he  expresses  in  them  his 
doubts  of  the  most  incontestable  dogmas  of  religion,  while 
he  blindly  gives  credit  to  the  reveries  of  judicial  astrology ; 
an  inconsistency  common  to  many  other  infidels.  Mosheim 
informs  us  that  Boulainvilliers  was  such  an  admirer  of  the 
pernicious  opinions  of  Spinosa,  that  he  formed  the  design 
of  expounding  i^nd  illustrating  it,  as  is  done  with  respect  to 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  in  books  of  piety,  accommo- 
dated to  ordinary  capacities.  This  design  he  actually  exe- 
cuted, but  in  such  a  manner  as  to  set  the  atheism  and  im-> 
piety  of  Spinosa  in  a  clearer  light  than  they  had  ever  ap- 
peared before.  The  work  was  published  by  Lenglet  da 
Fresnoy,  who,  that  it  might  be  bought  with  avidity,  and 
read  without  suspicion,  called  it  a  Refutation  of  the  Errors  of 
Spinosa,  artfully  adding  some  separate  pieces,  to  which  this 
title  may,  in  some  measure,  he  thought  applicable.  The 
whole  title  runs,  "  Refutation  des  Erreurs  de  Benoit  de 
Spinosa,  par  M.  de  Fenelou,  archeveque  de  Cambray,  par 
le  Pere  Lauri  Benedictiu,  et  par  M.  Le  Comte  de  Boulain- 
villiers, avec  la  Vie  de  Spinosa,  ecrite  par  Jean  Colerus, 
minister  de  TEglise  Lutherienne  de  la  Haye,  augment^e 
de  beaucoup  de  particularites  tiroes  d'une  vie  manuscrite 
de  ce  philpsopbe,  fait  par  un  de  ses  amis,'*  (Lucas,  the 
atheistical  physician),  Brussels|,  1731,  12mo.  The  ac* 
Qount  and  defence  of  Spinosa,  given  by  Boulainvilliers, 
under  the  pretence  of  a  refutation,  take  up  the  greatest 
part  of  this  book,  and  are  placed  first,  and  not  last  in  or- 
der, as  the  title  would  insinuate ;  and  the  volume  concludes 
with  what  is  not  in  the  title,  a  defence  of  Spinosa  by  Bre- 
denburg,  and  a  refutation  of  that  defence  by  Orobio,  a 
Jew  of  Amsterdam. — It  remains  to  be  noticed,  •  that  his 
Life  of  Mahomet,  which  he  did  not  live  to  complete,  was 
published  at  London  and  Amsterdam,  in  1730,  8vo  ;  and 
about  the  same  time  an  English  translation  of  it  appeared. 
His  letters,  also,  on  the  French  parliaments,  were  translated 
and  published  at  London,   17S9,  2  vols.  8vo.  ^ 

BOULANGER  (Nicholas  Anthony),  one  of  the  earliest 
French  infidels,  who  assumed  the  name  of  philosophers 
W9S  born  at^  Paris  in  1722,  and  died  there  in  1759,  aged 

1  MQi»ri,^Dict.  Hist^-oMosheim'i  Eccl.  Hiit.--SaicU  Onomait, 


»06  B  O  U  L  A  N  G  E  R, 

only  thirty-seven.  Dtiring  his  education,  he  is  said  ta 
have  come  out  of  the  college  of  Bea^vais  aiinost  as  ignorant 
a<  he  went  in  ;  butj  struggling  hard  against  his  inaptitude 
to  study,  he  at  length  overcame  it.  At  seventeen  yes^rs  of 
age  he  began  to  apply  himself  to  mathematics  and  archi-^ 
tecture ;  and,  in  three  or  four  years  made  such  progress 
as  to  be  useful  to  the  ba^on  of  Thiere,  whom  he  accom- 
panied to  the  army  in  quality  of  engineer.  Afterwards  he 
had  the  supervision  of  the  highways  and  bridges,  and  exe- 
cuted several  public  works  in  Champagne,  Burgtindy,  and 
LoiTain.  In  cutting  through  mountains,  directing  and 
changing  the  courses  of  rivers,  and  in  breaking  up  and 
turning  over  the  strata  of  the  earth,  he  saw  a  multitude  of 
diQerent  substances,  whieh  (he  thought)  evinced  the  great 
antiquity  of  it,  and  a  long  series  of  revolutions  which  it 
must  have  undergone.  From  the  revolutions  in  the  globe, 
he  passed  to  the  changes  that  must  have  happened  in  the 
manners  of  men,  in  societies,  in  governments,  in  religion  ; 
and  formed  many  conjectures  upon  all  these.  To  be  far- 
ther satisfied,  he  wanted  to  know  what,  in  the  history  of 
ages,  had  been  said  upon  these  particulars ;  and,  that  he 
might  be  informed  from  the  fountain-^head,  he  learned 
first  Latin,  and  then  Greek.  Not  yet  content,  he  plunged 
into  Hebrew,  Syriac,  Chaldaic,  and  Arabic:  and  from 
these  studies  accumulated  a  vast  mass  of  singular  and  pa^ 
tadoxical  opinions  which  he  conveyed  to  the  public  in  the 
following  works:  l.**Trait6  duDespotisme  Oriental,'*  2 
vols;  12mo,  2.  **  L'antiquit6  d6voil6,  par  ses  usages,*'  5 
vols.  12mo.  This  was  posthumous.  3.  Another  work,  en- 
titled ^*  Le  Christianisme  d^masqu^,''  8vo,  is  attributed 
to  him,  but  it  is  not  certain  that  he  was  the  author  of  it* 
4.  He  furnished  to  the  Encyclopedie  the  articles  D6iuge> 
Corvee,  and  Soci6t6.  5^  A  dissertation  on  Elii^a  and 
Enoch.  6.  He  left  behind  him  in  MS.  a  dictionary,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  a  concordance  in  antient  and  modern 
languages.  Voltaire,  theharon  D'Holbach,  and  other  dis- 
seminators of  infidelity,  made  much  use  of  Boulanger'st 
works,  and  more  of  his  name,  which,  it  is  supposed,  they 
prefixed  to  some  of  their  own  compositions.  Barruel  gived 
some  reason  for  thinking  that  Boulanger  retracted  hi« 
opinions  before  his  death.  His  name,  however,  still  re- 
mained of  consequence  to  the  party ;  and  as  late  as  179], 
an  edition  of  his   works,  entitled  the  Philosophical  Li« 


BOULANGER.  W7 

braiy,  was  published  at  the  philosophic  press  in  Swisitor- 
land. ' 

BOULANGER  (John),  an  engraver,  who  flourished 
about  the  year  1657,  was  a  native  of  France.  His  first 
manner  of  engtavlng  was  partly  copied  from  that  of  Francis 
de  Poilly ;  but  he  afterwards  adopted  a  manner  of  his  own, 
which,  though  not  original,  he  greatly  ifnpix>ved ;  and, 
accordingly,  he  finished  the  faces,  hands,  and  all  the  naked 
parts  of  his  figures  very  neatly  with  dots,  instead  of  strokes^ 
or  strokes  and  dots.  This  style  of  engraving  has  been  of 
'late  carried  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection,  particularly  in 
England.  Notwithstanding  several  defects  in  the  naked 
parts  of  his  figures,  and  in  his  draperies,  his  best  prints 
are  deservedly  much  esteemed.  Such  are  "  A  Holy  Fa- 
mily,'* from  Fran.  Corlebet ;  "  Virgin  and  Child,"  firom 
Simon  Vouet;  "The  Pompous  Cavalcade,'*  upon  Lpui$ 
the  XlVth  coming  of  age,  from  Chativeau ;  **  The  Virgin 
with  the  infant  Christ,"  holding  some  pinks,  and  therefore 
called  "  The  Virgin  of  the  Pinks,"  from  Raphael ;  "  The 
Virgin  de  Passau,"  from  Salario ;"  *'  Christ  carrying  his 
Cross,"  from  Nicolas  Mignard ;  "  A  dead  Christ,  sup- 
ported by  Joseph  of  Arimathea."  He  also  engraved  many 
portraits,  and,  among  others,  that  of  Charles  H.  of  Eng* 
land.  He  likewise  engraved  from  Leonardo  de  Vinci, 
Cuido,  Champagne,  Stella,  Coypel,  and  other  great  mas- 
ters, as  well  as  from  his  own  designs. 

There  was  another  John  Boulanger,  a  painter,  who 
was  bom  in  1606,  and  died  in  1660.  Mr.  Fuseli  informs 
us  that  be  was  a  pupil  of  Guido,  became  painter  to  the 
court  of  Modena,  and  master  of  a  school  of  art  in  that 
city.  What  remains  of  his  delicate  pencil  in  the  ducal 
palace,  proves  the  felicity  of  his  invention,  the  vivid  har- 
mony of  his  colour,  and  in  the  attitudes  a  spirit  bordering 
/on  enthusiasm.  Such  is  the  Sacrifice  (if  it  be  his,  as  fame 
asserts)  of  Iphigenia ;  though  the  person  of  Agamemnon  is 
veiled  in  a  manner  too  whimsical  to  be  admitted  in  a  heroic 
subject.  Of  his  scholars,  Tomaso  Costa  of  Sassuolo,  and 
Sigismondo  Caula  a  Modenese,  excelled  the  rest  Costa, 
a  vigorous  colourist,  laid  his  hand  indiscriminately  on 
every  subject  of  art,  greatly  employed  at  Reggio,  his  usual 
residence^  and  much  at  Modena,  where  jie  painted  the 


/ 


iO«  B  O  U  L  A  N  G  E  R. 

cupola  of  S.  Vicenzo.  Caula  left  his  home  only  to. improve 
himself  at  Venice,  and  returned  with  a  copious  and  well* 
toned  style;  but  sunk  to  a  more  languid  one  as  ^e  advanced 
in  life.  * 

BOULLONGNE  (Louis  de),  the  elder,  painter  to  the 
king,  and  professor  in  the  French  academy,  was  born  at 
Paris  in  1609,  and  was  principally  distinguished  for  his 
ability  in  copying  the  works  of  the  most  famous  ancient 
painters,  which  he  did  with  astonishing  fidelity.  Taqre 
are  also  in  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  at  Paris  three  pic- 
tures of  his  own  of  considerable  merit.  He  died  at  Paris 
in  1674,  leaving  the  two  following  sons  : 

BOULLONGNE  (Bon  de),  eldest  son  of  the  preceding, 
was  born  at  Paris  in  1649,  and  acquired  the  principles  of 
painting  from  his  father,  whom  he  resembled  in  bis  talent 
of  imitating  the  works  of  the  greatest  masters.  After  a  re- 
sidence of  five  years  in  Italy,  he  was  admitted  into  the 
academy,  of  which  he  became  a  professor,  and  employed 
by  Louis  XIV.  at  Versailles  and  Trianon.  He  excelled  in. 
history  and  portrait;  his  designs  were  accurate,  and  his 
colouring  good.  Besides  his  paintings  in  fresco,  in  two 
of  the  chapels  of  the  Invalids,  he  painted  several  pieces 
for  the  churches  and  public  buildings  of  Paris,  several  of 
which  have  been  engraved.  We  have  also  three  etchings 
done  by  him,  from  his  own  compositions,  viz.  a  species  of 
"  Almanack ;"  "  St.  John  in  the  Des;ert ;"  and  "  St.  Bruno 
in  a  landscape;"  its  companion.  He  died  at  Paris  in 
1717.  His  brother  Louis  de  Boullongne  the  younger, 
was  born  at  Paris  in  1654,  and  educated  under  his  father, 
by  whose  instruction  he  made  such  improvement,  that  he 
obtained  the  prize  of  the  academy  at  18.  His  studies  were 
completed  at  Rome,  where  he  particularly  studied  the  works 
of  Raphael,  and  from  his  copies  which  were  sent  home,  th,e 
Gobelin  tapestries  were  executed.  After  his  return  he  was 
received  into  the  academy  in  1680  ;  and  his  works  in  the 
churches  of  Notre  Dame  and  the  Invalids,  and  particularly 
his  frescos  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Augustin,  were  so  much 
esteemed,  that  Louis  XIV.  honoured  him  with  his  special 
patronage,  allowing  him  a  considerable  pension  ;  confer- 
ring upon  him  the  order  of  St.  Michael ;  choosing  him  de- 
signer of  medals  to  the  academy  of  inscriptions,  after  the 
death  of  Anthoby  Coypel ;  appointing  him  his  principal 

i  Strutt  and  PUkkigtom 


BOULLONGNE.  209 

painter,  and  etinobting  him  and  all  his  descendants.  The 
acadeipy  of  painting  also  chose  him  first  for  its  rector,  and 
afterwards  director,  which  place  he  occupied  till  his  death. 
He  chiefly  excelled  in  historical  and  allegorical  subjects* 
From  his  performances  it  appeared,  that  he  had  carefully 
studied  the  most  eminent  masters;  his  colouring  was 
strong,  his  composition  was  in  a  good  style,  the  airs  of  his 
heads  had  expression  and  character,  and  his  figures  were 
correctly  designed.  His  regular  attendance  at  the  aca- 
demy, and  his  advice  to  the  students,  commanded  respect : 
and  the  general  mildness  and  affability  of  his  disposition 
engaged  esteem  among  those  who  knew  him.  He  raised  a 
considerable  fortune  by  his  profession,  and  died  in  1734* 
Two  sisters  of  this  family,  **  Genevieve"  and  "  Magdalen,'* 
painted  well,  and  were  members  of  the  royal  academy  in 
1669.  * 

BOULTER  (Hugh),  D.  D.  archbishop  of  Armagh,  pri- 
mate and  metropolitan  of  all  Ireland,  was  born  in  or  near 
London,  Jan.  4,  1671,  of  a  reputable  and  opulent  family, 
received  his  first  rudiments]  of  learning  at  Merchant-Tay- 
lor's school,  and  was  admitted  from  thence  a  commoner  of 
Christ-church,  Oxford,  some  time  before  the  Revolution. 
His  merit  became  so  conspicuous  there,  that  immediately 
after  that  great  event,  he  was  elected  a  demi  of  Magdalen- 
college,  with  the  celebrated  Mr.  Addison,  and  Dr.  Joseph 
Wilcox,  afterwards  biskop  of  Rochester  and  dean  of  West- 
minster, from  whose  merit  and  learning  Dr.  Hough,  who  was 
then  restored  to  the  presidentship  of  that  college  (from  which 
he  had  been  unwarrantably  ejected  in  the  reign  of  king  James 
IL)  used  to  call  this  election  by  the  name  of  the  golden 
election^  and  the  same  respectful  appellation  was  long  after 
made  use  of  in  common  converjfation  in  the  college*. 
Mr.  Boulter  was  afterwards  made  fellow  of  Magdalen-col- 
lege. He  continued  in  the  university  till  he  was  called  to 
London,  by  the  invitation  of  sir  Charles  Hedges,  principal 
Jiecretary' of  state  in  1700,  who  made  him  his  chaplain; 

'  *  i>r.  Welsted,  a  physician,  was  also  The  primata  maintained  a  son  of  the 

of  this  goldea  election,  and  when  he  doctor's,  as  a  commoner,  at  Hart-hall 

became  poor  in  the  latter  part  of  his  in  Oxford ;  and  would  effectually-  have 

life,  the  archbishop,  though  he  was  no  provided  for  him,  if  the  young  gentie- 

relation,  gave  him,  at  the  least,  two  man  had  not  died  before  he  had  taken 

hundred  pounds  a  year,  till  his  death,  a  degree.    Dr.  Weisled  was  one  of  the 

Nor  did  his  grace's  kindness  to  the  editors    of   the  *  Oxford    Pindar,    and 

doctor's  family  end  with  bis  decease,  esteemed  an  excellent  Qreek  schol^, 

1  Pilkington.-~StrMtt.— *Abreg4  des  Vies  des  Peintres,  voL  IV. 

Vol.  VI.  P 


2JIO  BOULTER. 

and  some  tii&e  after  he  was  preferred  to  the  same  bonots? 
by  Dr.  Thomas  Tenison,  archbishop  of  Canterbury.     In 
these  stations  he  was  under  a  necessity  <^(  appearing  often 
at  court,  where  his  merit  obtained  him  the  patronage  of 
Charles  Spencer,  earl  of  Sunderland,  principal  secretary 
of  state,  by  whose  interest  he  was  advanced  to  the  rectory 
of  St.  Olave  in  Southwark,  and  to  the  archdeaconry  of 
Surrey.     The  parish  of  St.  Olave  was  very  populous,  and 
for  the  most  part  poor,  and  required  such  a  liberal  and  vi- 
gilant pastor  as  Dr.  Boulter,  who  relieved  their  wants, 
and  gave  them  instruction,  correction,  and  reproof.     When 
king  George  I.  passed  ovev  to  Hanover  in  1719,  Dr.  Boul- 
ter was  recommended  to  attend  him  in  quality  of  his  chapr 
lain,  and  also  was  appointed  tutor  to  prince  Frederic,  to 
instruct  him  in  the  English  tongue ;  and  for  that  purpose 
drew  up  for  his  use  "A  set  of  Instructions."     This  so  re- 
commended him  to  the  king,  that  during  his  abode  at 
Hanover,  the  bishopric  of  Bristol,  and  deanery  of  Christ-  - 
church,  Oxford,  becoming  vacant,    the  king  granted  to 
him  that  see  and  deanery,  and  he  was  consecrated  bishop 
of  Bristol,  on  the  fifteenth  of  November,   1719.     In  this 
last  station  he  was  more  than  ordinarily  assiduous  in  the 
visitation  of  his  diocese,  and  the  discharge  of  his  pastoral 
duty ;  and  during  one  of  these  visitations,  he  received  a 
letter  by  a  messenger  from  the  secretary  of  state,  acquaint- 
ing him,  that  his  majesty  had  nominated  him  to  the  arch- 
1>ishopric  of  Armagh,  and  primacy  of  Ireland,  then  vacant 
by  the  death  of  Dr.  Thomas  Lindsay,  on  the  13  th  of  July, 
1724,  and  desiring  him  to  repair  to  London  as  soon  as 
^possible,  to  kiss  the  king's  hand  for  his  promotion.     After 
some  consultation  on  this  affair,  to  which  he  felt  great  re- 
pugnance, he  sent  an  answer  by  the  messenger,  refusing 
the  honour  the  king  intended  him,  and  requesting  the  se- 
cretary to  use  his  good  offices  with  his  majesty,  in  making 
his  excuse,  but  the  messenger  was  dispatched  back  to  him 
by  the  secretary,  with  the  king's  absolute  commands  that 
he  should  accept  of  the  post,  to   which  he  ^bmitted, 
though  not  without  some  reluctance,  and  soon  after  ad- 
dressed himself  to  his  journey  to  court.     Ireland  was  at 
that  juncture  not  a  little  inflamed,   by  the  copper-coin 
project  of  one  Wood,  and  it  was  thought  by  the  king  and 
ministry,  that  the  judgment,  moderation,  and  wisdom  of 
the  bishop  of  Bristol  would  tend  much  to  allay  the  ferment. 
He  arrived  in  Ireland  on  the  third  of  November,  1724, 


BOULTER;  ;?lt 

iftid  had  no  sooner  passed  patent  for  the  primiicy,  than  he 
appeared  at  all  the  public  boards,  and  gave  a  weight  and' 
rigour  to  them ;  and,  in  every  respect,  was  indefatigable 
in  promoting  the  real  happiness  of  the  people.     Among 
his  other  wise  measures,  in  seasons  of  great  scarcity  in 
Ireland,  he  was  more  than  once  instrumental  in  averting  a 
pestilence  and  famine^  which  threatened  the  nation.     When 
the  scheme  was  set  on  foot  for  making  a  navigation,  by  a- 
canal  to  be  drawn  from  Longh-Neagh  to  Newry,  not  only 
for  bringing  coal  to  Dublin,  but  to  carry  oh  more  effec- 
taally  an  inland  trade  in  the  several  counties  of  the  north 
of  Ireland,  he  greatly  encouraged  and  promoted,  the  de-* 
sign,  not  only  with  his  counsel  but  his  purse.     Drogheda 
is  a  large  and  populous  town  within  the  diocese  of  Armagh^ 
and  bis  grace  finding  that  the  ecclesiastical  appointments 
were  not  sufficient  to  support  two  clergymen  there,  and 
the  cure  over-burthensome  for  one  effectually  to  discharge^ 
he  allotted  out  of  his  own  pocket  a  maintenance  for  a  se- 
cond curate,  whom  he  obliged  to  give  public  service  every 
Sunday  in  the  afternoon,  and  prayers  twice  every  day; 
He  had  great  compassion  for  the  poor  cUrgy  of  bis  dio- 
cese^ who  were  disabled  from  giving  their  children  a  pro- 
pier  education^    and  maintained  several   of  the   sons  of 
such  in  the  university^  in  order  to  qualify  them  for  future 
preferment.     He  erected  four  houses  at  Drogheda  for  the 
reception  of  clergymen^s  widows,  and  purchased  an  estate 
for  the  endowment  of  them,  after  the  model  of  primate 
Marsh's  charity  i  which  be  enlarged  in  one  particular  :  for 
as  the  estate  he  purchased  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
widows,  amounted  to  twenty-four,  pounds  a  year  more  than 
he  had  set  apart  for  that  usej  he  appointed  that  the  surplus 
should  be  a  fund  for  setting  out  the   children  of  such 
widows  apprentices,  or  otherwise  to  be  disposed  of  for  the 
benefit  of  such  children^  as  his  trustees  should  think  proper. 
He  also  by  his  will  directed^  which  has  since  been  perr 
formed,  that  four  houses  should  be  built  for  rlergymen's 
widows  at  Armagh,  and  endowed  with  fifty  pounds  a  year. 
During  his  life,  he  contracted  for  the  building  of  a  stately 
market-house  at  Armagh,  which  was  finished  by  his  ex^- 
cutors^  at  upwards  of  eight  hundred  pounds  expence.     He 
was  a  benefactor  also  to  Dr.  Stevens's  hospital  in  the  city 
of  Dublin^  erected  for  the  maintenance  and  cure  of  the 
poor.     His  charities  for  augmenting  small   livings^   an4 
huymg  of  glebesy  amounted  to  upwards  of  thirty  thousand 

P2  ! 


^12  B  O  U  L  T  £  H* 

pound?,  besides  what  he  devised  by  his  will  fbr  the  like 
purposes  in  England.     Though  the  plan  of  the  iucorpor' 
rated  society  for  promoting  English   protestant  working 
schools,  cannot  be  imputed  to  primate  Boulter,  yet  he 
was  the  chief  instrument  in  forwarding  the  undertaking, 
which  he  lived  to  see  carried  into  execution  with  consider* 
able  success.     His  private  charities  were  not  less  munifi- 
cent, but  so  secretly  conducted,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
give  any  particular  account  of  them :  it  is  affirmed  by 
those  who  were  in  trust  about  him,  that  he  never  suffered 
an  object  to  leave  his  house  unsupplied,  and  he  often  sent 
them  away  with  considerable  sums,  according  to  the  judg- 
ment he  made  of  their  merits  and  necessities.-^ With  respect 
to  his  political  virtues,  and  the  arts  of  government,  when 
his  health  would  permit  him  he  was  constant  in  his  attend- 
ance at  the  council-table,  and  it  is  well  known  what  weight 
and  dignity  h<^  gave  to  the  debates  of  that  board.     As  be 
alvirays  studied  the  true  interest  of  Ireland,  so  he  judged^ 
that  the  diminishing  the  value  of  the  gold  coin  would  be  a 
means  of  increasing  silver  in  the  country,  a  thing  very 
much  wanted ;  in  order  to  effect  which,  he  supported  a 
scheme  at  the  council- table,  which  raised  the  clamours  of 
unthinking  people,  although  experience  soon  demonstrated 
its  wisdom.     He  was  thirteen  times  one  of  the  lords  justices, 
or  chief  governors  of  Ireland ;  which  office  he  administered 
oftener  than  any  other  chief  governor  on  record.     He  em- 
barked for  England  June  2,  1742,  and  after  two  days  ill- 
ness died  at  his  house  in  St.  James's  place^,  Sept.  27,  and 
was  buried  in  Westminster-abbey,  where  a  stately  monu- 
ment has  been  erected  to  his  memory. — His  deportment 
was  grave,  his  aspect  venerable,  and  his  temper  meek  and 
humble.     He  was  always  open  and  easy  of  access  both  to 
rich  and  poor.     He  was  steady  to  the  principles  of  liberty, 
both  in  religion  and  politics.     His  learning  was  universal, 
yet  more  in  substance  than  shew ;  nor  would  his  mode^y 
permit  him  to  make  any  ostentation  of  it.     He  always  pre- 
served such  an  equal  temper  of  mind  that  hardly  any  thing 
could  ruffle,  and  amidst  obloquy  and  opposition,  steadily 
maintained  a  resolution  of  serving  his  country,  embraced 
every  thing  proposed  for  the  good  of  it,  though  by  persons 
remarkable  for  their  opposition  to  him  :  and  when  the  most 
public-spirited  schemes  were  introduced  by  him,  and  did 
not  meet  with  the  reception  they  deserved,  he  never  took 
offence,  but  was  glad  when  any  part  of  his  advice  for  thc^ 


BOULTER,  813 

public  good  was  pursued,  and  was  always  willing  to  drop 
some  points,  that  he  might  not  lose  all;  often  saying, 
'*  he  would  do  all  the  good  to  Ireland  he  could,  though 
they  did  not  suffer  htm  to  do  all  he  would."  His  life  was 
mostly  spent  in  action,  and  therefore  it  is  not  to  be  ex* 
pected  that  he  should  have  left  many  remains  of  his  learn'? 
IDg  behind  him ;  nor  do  we  know  of  any  thing  he  hatii 
written,  excepting  a  few  Charges  to  his  clergy  at  his  visit^^^ 
tions,  which  are  grave,  solid,  and  instructive,  and  elevea 
Occasional  Sermons,  printed  separately.  In  1769,  however, 
were  published,  at  Oxford^  in  two  volumes  Syo,  ^^  Letter^ 
written  by  his  excellency  Hugh  Boulter,  D.  D.  lord  pri«» 
mate  of  all  Ireland^  &c.  to  several  ministers  of  state  in 
England,  and  some  others.  Containing  an  account  of  th^ 
most  interesting  transactions  which  passed  in  Ireland  from 
1724  to  1738."  The  originals,  which  are  deposited  in  the 
library  of  Christ  church,  in  Oxford,  w(*re  collected  by 
Ambrose  Philips,  esq.  who  w^s  secretary  to  his  grace,  and 
lived  in  his  bouse  during  that  space  of  time  in  which  they 
bear  date.  They  are  entirely  letters  of  business,  and  are 
all  of  them  in  I>r.  Bonlter's  band-writing,  excepting  some 
few,  which  are  fair  copies  by  his  secretary.  The  qditor 
justly  remarks,  that  these  letters,  which  could  not  be  in* 
tended  for  publication,  have  been  fortunately  preserved, 
as  they  contain  the  most  authentic  history  of  Ireland,  for 
the  period  in  which  they  were  written ;  "  a  period,''  be 
adds,  *^  which  will  ever  do  honour  to  his  grace's  memory, 
aiid  to  those  most  excellent  princes  George  the  first  and 
second,  who  had  the  wisdom  to  place  confidence  in  so 
worthy,  so  able,  and  so  successful  a  minister ;  a  minister 
who  bad  the  rare  and  peculiar  felicity  of  growing  still 
more  and  mdre  into  the  favour  both  of  the  king  and  of  the 
people,  until  the  very  last  day  of  his  life."  It  is  much  to 
be  regretted  that  in  some  of  his  measures,  be  was  opposed 
by  de^n  Swift,  particularly  in  that  of  diminishing  the  gold 
coin,  as  it  is  probable  that  they  both  were  actuated  by  an 
earnest  desire  of  serving  the  country.  In  one  affair,  that 
pf  Wood's  halfpence,  they  appear  to  have  coincided,  and 
in  that  they  both  happened  to  encourage  a  public  clamour 
which  had  little  solid  foundation. — ^The  writer  of  archbishop 
Boulter's  Life  in  Ithe  Biog.  Brit,  seems  to  doubt  whether 
he  assisted  Ambrose  Philips  in  the  paper  called  the 
**  Freethinker  j"  but  of  this  we  apprehend  there  can  be  no 


tl4  BOULTER. 

doubt     It  was  published  while  he  held  the  living  of  S^, 
Olave's. 

His  widow  died  March  3,  1754.  On  the  contingency  of 
his  having  no  issue  by  her,  which  was  the  case,  he  had 
bequeathed  five  hundred  pounds  to  Magdalen-college  in 
Oxford,  to  be  applied  towards  rebuilding  the  same ;  and  a 
thousand  pounds  to  Christ-church  in  the  same  university, 
to  be  applied  to  the  pui'chase  of  an  estate  for  founding  five 
exhibitions  of  equal  value,  to  be  distributed  among  five  of 
the  poorest  and  most  deserving  of  the  commoners  of  that 
college,  to  be  enjoyed  by  them  for  four  years  from  the 
time  of  their  election  ;  and  directed,  that  no  commoner  of 
sabove  three  years  standitig  should  be  elected  into  the  said 
exhibitions.  He  vested  the  said  election  in  the  dean  and 
canons  of  that  house,  and  directed  that  the  exhibitioners 
should  be  chosen  upon  a  public  examination  in  the  ball, 
and  recommended  the  sons  of  clergymen  to  be  in  the  first 
place,  cateris  paribus,  considered.  He  also  bequeathed  the 
further  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  to  the  last  n:cntioned 
college,  to  buy  an  estate,  to  be  distributed  in  equal  exhi- 
bitions to  five  servitots  of  the  said  college,  of  whom  none 
were  to  be  capable  of  election  who  were  of  above  two  years 
standing,  nor  to  enjoy  the  exhibition  longer  than  for  three 
years ;  and  he  vested  the  right  of  election  in  the  dean  and 
chapter.  * 

BOULTON  (Matthew),  who  justly  ought  to  be  classed 
among  public  benefactors,  the  son  of  Matthew  Boulton,  by 
Christian,  daughter  of  Mr.  Peers,  of  Chester,  was  born  sit 
Birmingham  Sept.  3,  1728,  and  was  principally  educated 
at  a  private  grammar  school,  kept  by  the  rev.  Mr.  Ansted. 
He  learned  drawing  under  Worlidge,  and  mathematics  tin- 
der Cooper,  and  laid  in  a  stock  of  that  useful  knowledge 
by  which  he  was  enabled  so  highly  to  improve  the  manu- 
factures of  his  country.  So  early  as  the  year  1745,  Mr. 
Boulton  invented  and  brought  to  great  perfection,  the  in- 
laid steel,  buckles,  buttons,  watch  chains,  &c.  Great 
quantities  of  these  were  exported  to  France,  from  whence 
they  were  re-purchased  with  avidity 'by  the  English,  as  the 
offspring  of  Erench  ingenuity.  His  manufactory  at  Bir- 
mingham, however,  being  inadequate  to  his  extensive  im- 
provements, and  further  experiments,  he,  in  1762,  pur- 
chased a  lease  of  the  Soho,  at  Handsworth,  in  the  county 

1  Biog.  Brit.«-Pr6face  to  hit  Letters. 


B  O  U  L  T  O  N.  215 

of  Stafford,  distant  about  two  miles;  at  that  time,  a  bar* 
reH  heathy  on  the  bleak  summit  of  which  stood  a  naked 
hut,  the  habitation  of  a  warrener.  These  extensive  tracts 
of  common  were  converted  by  Mr.  BouUon  into  the  present 
superb  manufactory,  which  was  finished  in  1765,  at  the 
expence  of  9000/.;  and  in  the  year  1794,  he  purchased  the 
fee  simple  of  Soho,  and  much  of  the  other  adjoining  lands. 

Impelled  by  an  ardent  attachment  to  the  arts,  and  by  the 
patriotic  ambition  of  bringing  his  favourite  Soho  to  the 
highest  perfection,  the  ingenious  proprietor  soon  esta- 
blished a  seminary  of  artists,  for  drawing  and  modelling ; 
and  men  of  genius  were  sought  for,  and  liberally  patronized, 
ivhich  shortly  led  to  the  successful  establishment  of  an  ex- 
tensive manufactory  of  ornaments,  in  what  the  French  call 
crmoulu;  and  these  ornaments  not  only  found  their  wiiy 
into  the  apartments  of  his  majesty,  but  also  into  those  of 
the  nobility  and  curious  of  this  kingdom,  France,  and  the 
greatest  part  of  £urope. 

Finding  that  the  mill  which  he  had  erected  fell  infinitely 
short,  even  with  the  aid  of  horses,  of*  the  force  which  was 
necessary  for  the  completion  of  his  vast  designs,  Mr.  fioul- 
ton,  in  1767,  had  recourse  to  that  master- piece  of  human 
ingenuity,  the  steam  engine.  This  wonderful  machine  was 
yet  in  its  infancy,  and  did  not  at  first  answer  the  expecta- 
tions that  had  been  formed  of  it.  In  1769,  Mr.  James  Watt, 
of  Glasgow,  obtained  a  patent  for  a  prodigious  improve- 
ment in  the  steam  engine.  This  induced  Mr.  Boulton  to 
form  connexions  with  Mr.  Watt,  and  invited  him  to  settle 
at  Soho,  to  which  the  latter  consented.  In  1775,  parlia- 
ment granted  a  prolongation  of  the  patent  for  twenty -five 
years ;  and  Messrs.  Boulton  and  Watt  entering  into  a  part- 
nership, established  a  very  extensive  manufactory  of  these  . 
engines  at  Soho,  whence  most  of  the  great  mines  and  ma- 
nufactories in  England  continue  to  be  supplied,  and  they 
are  now  applied  in  almost  every  mechanical  purpose,  where 
great  power  ie  requisite. 

Amongst  the  various  applications  of  the  steam  engine, 
that  of  coining  se^ms  to  be  of  considerable  importance,  as 
by  its  powers,  all  the  operations  are  concentrated  on  the 
same  spot.  It  works  a  number  of  coining  machines  with 
greater  rapidity  and  exactness  by  a  few  boys  from  twelve  to 
fourteen  years  of  age,  than  could  be  done  by  a  great  num« 
ber  of  strong  men,  without  endangering  their  fingers,  as 
the  machine  itsdf  lays  the  bliinks  upon  the  die  perfectly 


UIB  B  O  U  L  T  O  N. 

conceiitral  with  it,  and,  when  struck,  dj$place$  one  piece 
and  replaces  another.  The  coining  mill,  which  was  erected 
in  1788,  and  has  since  been  greatly  improved,  is  adapted 
to  work  eight  machines,  and  each  is  capable  of  striking 
from  sixty  to  an  hundred  pieces  of  money  in  a  minute,  the 
size  of  a  guinea,  which  is  equal  to  between  30,000  and 
40,000  per  hour,  and  at  the  same  blow,  which  strikes  the 
face  and  reverse,  the  edge  of  the  piece  is  also  struck,  either 
plain  or  with  an  inscription. 

About  the  year  1773,  the  ingenious  art  of  copying  pic- 
tures in  oil  colours,  by  ^  mechanical  process,  was  invented 
at  Soho;  and  was  brought  to  such  a  degree  of  perfection 
that  the  copies  were  taken  for  originals  by  the  most  expe«- 
vienced  connoisseurs.  This  art  was  brought  to  perfection 
under  the  management  of  the  late  ingenious  Mr.  F.  Egin- 
ton,  who  was  no  less  celebrated  for  his  paintings  on  glass. 

In  1788,  Mr.  Boulton  struck  a  piece  of  gold,  the  size  of 
a  guinea,  as  a  pattern,  the  letters  of  which  were  indented 
instead  of  a  relief;  and  the  head  and  other  devices,  although 
in  relief,  were  protected  from  wear  by  a  flat  border ;  and 
from  the  perfect  rotundity  of  shape,  &c.  with  the  aid  of  a 
steel  guage,  it  may  with  great  e&se  and  certainty,  by  as- 
certaining its  specific  gravity,  be  distinguished  from  any 
base  metel.  Previous  to  his  engagement  to  supply  go^ 
vernment  with  copper  pence,  in  order  to  bring  his  appara- 
tus to  perfection,  he  exercised  it  in  coining  silver  money 
for  Sierra  Leone  and  the  African  Company ;  and  copper 
for  the  East  India  Company  and  Bermuda.  Various  beau- 
tiful medals,  also,  of  superior  workmanship  to  any  of  the 
modern  money  of  this  country,  of  our  celebrated  naval  and 
other  officers,  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  struck  here  by 
Mr.  Boulton,  for  the  purpose  of  employing  and  encouraging 
ingenious  artists  to  revive  that  branch  of  sculpture. 

Since  the  demise  of  the  late  empress  Catherine  of  Russia, 
Mr.  Boulton  presented  her  successor,  the  late  emperor 
Paul  I.  with  some  of  the  curious  articles  of  his  manufactory, 
Und  in  return  received  a  polite  letter  of  thanks  and  appro- 
bation, together  with  a  splendid  collection  of  medals,  mi- 
nerals from  Siberia^  and  specimens  of  all  the  modem  mo- 
pey  of  Russia*  Aaong  the  medals  which^  for  elegance  of 
design  and  beauty  of  es:ecution,  have  never  yet  been 
equalled  in  this  or  any  other  country^  is  a  maasy  one  of 
'  gold,  impressed  with  a  striking  likeness,  it  is  said,  of  that 
iponafcb*    This  uiurif  aUed  piece  was  struck  from  a  dip  en- 


B  O  U  L  T  O  N.  SIT 

fraved  fay  the  present  empress  dowager,  who  has,  from  her 
youth,  taken  great  delight  in  the  art  of  engraving  on  steel. 

With  a  view  of  still  further  improving  and  facilitating 
the  jBanufactory  of  steam  engines,  Messrs.  Boulton  and 
Watt,  have  lately,  in  conjunction  with  their  sons,  esta- 
blished a  foundery  at  Smethwick,  a  short  distance  from 
Soho.  Here  that  powerful  agent  is  employed,  as  it  were, 
to  multiply  itself,  and  its.  various  parts  are  fabricated  and 
adapted  together  with  the  same  regularity,  neatness,  and 
expedition,  which  distinguish  all  the  operations  of  their  ma- 
nufactory. Those  engines  are  afterwards  distributed  to  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom  by  the  Birmingham  canal,  which  com- 
municates with  a  wet  dock  belonging  to  the  foundery. 

In  a  national  view,  Mn  Boulton^s  undertakings  have  been 
highly  valuable  and  important     By  -collecting  around  him 
artists  of  various  descriptions,  rival  talents  have  been  called 
forth ;  and,  by  successive  competition,  have  beeu  multi- 
plied to  an  extent  highly  beneficial  to  the  public.     A  bar- 
ren heath  has  beeu  covered  with  plenty  and  population ; 
and  these  works,  which  in  their  infancy  were  little  knowa 
and  attended  to,  now  cover  several  acres,  ffive  employment 
to  more  than  six  hundred  persons,  and  are  indubitably  the 
first  of  their  kind  in  Europe.   No  expence  has  been  spared 
to  render  these  works  uniform  and  handsome  in  architec- 
ture, as  well  as  neat  and  commodious.    The  same  liberal 
spirit  and  taste  have  been  displayed  on  the  adjoining  gar-^ 
dens  and  pleasure  grounds,  which  at  the  same  time  that 
they  form  an  agreeable  separation  from  the  proprietor's 
residence,  render  Soho  a  much  admired  scene  of  piotu** 
resque  beauty.     As  bis  great  and  expanded  mind  formed 
and  brought  to  perfection  the  wonderful  works  thus  briefly 
described,  so  he  felt  no  greater  felicity,  than  that  of  diffus- 
ing happiness  to  all  around  him:     Mr.  Boulton  was  not  only 
a  fellow  of  the  royal  societies  of  London  and  Edinburgh, 
but  likewise  o(  that  which  bears  the  title  of  the  free  and 
oecooomical  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  many  other  foreign 
institutions  of  the  highest  celebrity  in  Europe.    He  died  ia 
his  eighty *first  year,  at  Soho,  August  17,  1809,  regretted 
as  an  illustrious  contributor  to  the  wealth  and  fitme  of  his 
country,  aod  a,  man  of  amiable  and  generous  charactetr 
file  was  succeeded  in  estate  and  talents  by  his  only  son^  the 
piqeaept  proprietor    of    Soho,     in  conjunction  with  his 
^artoers.  ^ 

*  frook  **  JMemoirs  of  M.  Bonltoti,  esq.*'  printed  at  Birmiog^ham  1809. 


»18  BOUQUET. 

BOUQUET  (DoM  Martin),  an  eminent  French  histow 
rian  and  antiquary^  was  a  Benedictine  of  the  congrega<- 
tion  of  St.  Maur,  and  born  at  Amiens,  Aug.  6,  1685.  Af- 
ter finishing  his  course  of  philosophy  and  divinity,  he 
^udied  the  learned  languages  with  great  success,  and  his 
superiors  observing  his  <lecided  taste  for  literature,  made 
him  librarian  of  St.  Germain* des-prez.  He  afterwards 
assisted  the  celebrated  Montfaucon  in  some  of  his  works, 
and  undertook  himself  an  edition  of  Josephus.  When, 
however,  he  had  made  considerable  progress  in  this,  he 
understood  that  a  man  of  learning  in  Holland  was  em- 
ployed on  a  similar  design,  and  therefore,^.with  a  liberality, 
not  very  common,  sent  to  him  all  the  collections  he  had 
formed  for  the  work.  On  the  death  of  father  Le  Long,  of 
the  oratory,  in  1721,  Bouquet  was  employed  in  making 
a  collection  of  the  historians  of  France.  Of  this  important 
work,  a  brief  account  will  not  be  uninteresting. 

The  first  who  attempted  a  collection  of  the  kind  was  the 
famous  Peter  Pithou.  It  was  his  intention  to  have  pub- 
lished a  complete  body  of  French  historians;  extracted 
from  printed  books  and  M8S.  but  be  died  in  1596,  having 
published  only  two  volumes  on  the  subject,  one  in  8vo, 
the  other  in  4to.  These  carried  the  history  no  lower  than 
the  year  1285.  Nothing  more  was  done  till  1635,  when 
Du  Chesne,  who  is  called  the  Father  of  French  history, 
took  up  the  subject  again,  and  published  a  prospectus  for 
a  history,  to  be  comprised  in  fourteen  volumes  fol.  and 
end  with  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  The  first  two  volumes  ac- 
cordingly came  out' in  1636,  bu^  the  author  died  whilst  the 
two  next  were  in  the  press.  These,  however,  were  pub- 
lished in  1641,  by  his  son,  who  added  a  fifth  volume,  end- 
ing with  the  life  of  Philippe  le  Bel,  in  1649.  The  next 
attempts  were  vain,  though^  made  under  the  auspices  of 
such  men  as  Colbert,  Louvois,  and  chancellor  D'Aguesseau: 
the  plan  proposed  by  the  first  miscarried  through  the  ob- 
stinacy of  the  famous  Ducange  (who  would  have  the  work 
done  in  his  own  way,  or  have  nothing  to  do  with  it)  and 
the  modesty  of  Mabillon.  Another  was,  as  we  have  just 
mentibned,  put  a  stop  to  by  the  death  of  Le  Long,  who, 
having  pointed  out  the  materials  in  his  ^'  Bibliothequie 
Historique  de  la  France,"  was  the  fittest  to  have  made  use 
of  them.  In  this  state  of  things  the  Benedictine  congFe* 
gation  of  St  Maur  recommended  Bouquet,  who  accord- 
ingly went  to  work  under  the  inspection  of  a  socie^  of 


BOUQUET.        '  %\9 

learned  men  named  by  the  chancellor,'  in  whose  presence 
the  plan  of  the  work,  and  the  materials  fit  to  be  made  use 
of,  were  discussed.  Bouquet  was  so,  assiduous  in  his  la* 
bour,  that  about  the  end  of  the  year  1729  he  was  ready 
with  two  volumes ;  but,  owing  to  his  removal  to  the  abbey 
of  Stp  John  de  Laon,  they  were  not  published  until  1738, 
when  the  chancellor  D'Aguesseau  called  him  to  Paris,  and 
he  then  prbceeded  so  rapidly,  that  the  eighth  was  published 
in  1752.  He  had  begun  the  ninth,  in  which  he  hoped  to 
have  completed  what  regarded  the  second  race  of  the 
French  kings;  but,  in  1754,  was  seized  with  a  violent  dis- 
order, which  ptoved  fatal  in  tour  days,  April  6.  He  was 
a  man  of  extensive  learning,  connected  with  all  the  learned 
men  and  learned  societies  of  his  time,  and  beloved  for  his 
personal  virtues.  For  many  years  the  work  was  continued 
by  the  congregation  of  St.  Maur,  but  without  the  name  of 
any  editor.  Seven  more  volumes  have  appeared  since 
Bouquet^s  death,  and  the  sixteenth  is  now  in  the  press, 
^nd  almost  ready  for  publication.  * 

BOUQUIN      See  BOQUINE. 

BOURBON,  or  BORBONIUS  (Nicholas),  a  Latin 
poet  of  France,  was  born  in  1503  at  Vandeuvre,  near  Lan«. 
gres,  the  son  of  a  rich  torge-masteh  Margaret  de  Valoi^ 
appointed  him  preceptor  to  her  daughter  Jane  d'Albret  de 
Navarre,  mother  of  Henry  IV.  He  retired  afterwards  to 
Cond^,  where  he  had  a  benefice,  and  died  there  about  1550. 
Bourbon  left  eight  books  of  epigrams,  and  a  didactic  poem 
on  the  forge  entitled  "  Ferrarie/'  1533,  8vo;  "  De  puero- 
rum  moribus,''  Lyons,  1536,  4to,  a  series  of  moral  dis* 
tichs^  with  a  commentary  by  J.  de  Caures.  He  was  ex- 
tremely well  acquainted  with  antiquity  and  the  Greek 
language.  Erasmus  praises  his  epigrams,  and  he  appears 
to  have  been  the  friend  and  correspondent  of  Erasmus, 
Scaliger,  Latimer,  Carey,  Harvey,  Saville,  Norris,  Dud-> 
ley,  &c.  having  frequently  visited  England,  where  he  was 
patronized  by  Dr,  Butts,  the  king^s  physician,  and  William 
Boston,  abbot  of  Westminster,  an  hospitable  man,  with 
whom  he  speaks  of  having  passed  many  pleasant  hours  in 
archbishop  Cranmer's  garden  at  Lambeth.  He  treats  sir 
Thomas  More  with  great  asperity  in  one  of  his  epigrams, 
from  which  we  may  probably  conclude  that  he  inclined  to 
protestantism,  although  this  is  not  consistent  with  his  his* 

}  Moreri.— Diet.  Hist.-*Maty'f  Review,  vol.  11.  p.  472. 


._ 


$tO  BOURBON. 

tory.  His  epigrams  were  published  under  the  title  of 
^'  Nugarum  libri  octo,"  Paris^  1 53 3,  and  often  reprinted,  par** 
ticularly  by  Scaliger,  1577;  in  1608  by  Passerat,  with  notes; 
and  lastly,  by  the  abb6  Brocbard  in  1723,  a  handsome 
quarto  edition,  printed  at  Paris.* 

BOURBON  (Nicholas),  nephew  to  the  above,  and 
superior  to  him  as  a  Greek  and  Latin  poet,  was  the  son  of 
a  physician.  He  taught  rhetoric  in  several  colleges  at 
Paris,  and  cardinal  du  Perron  appointed  him  professor  of 
eloquence  at  the  royal  college.  He  was  also  canon  of 
Langres,  and  one  of  the  forty  of  the  French  academy.  He 
retired  at  last  among  the  fathers  of  the  oratory,  where  he 
died'  August  7,  1644,  aged  seventy.  Bourbon  is  justly 
considered  as  one  of  the  greatest  Latin  poets  whom  France 
has  produced.  His  poems  were  printed  at  Paris,  l&5lf 
12mo.  The  ^*  Imprecation  on  thfe  Parricide  of  Henry  IV.^** 
i^  his  chef-d'oeuvre.  He  wrote  the  two  beautiful  lines 
which  are  upon  the  gate  of  the  arsenal  at  Paris^  in  honour 
of  Henry  the  Great : 

/Etna  hsec  Henrico  Vukania  tela  ministrat^ 
Tela  Gigantasos  debellatura  furores.  * 

BOURCHIER  (Sir  John),  lord  BERNERS,  was  bom 
about  1467,  son  and  heir  of  sir  Humphrey  Bourchier  by 
Elizabeth,  daughter  and  heir  of  sir  Frederick  Tilney 
(widow  of  sir  Thomas  Howard),  which  Humphrey  was 
killed  at  Barnet-field,  on  Edward  IVth's  part,  and  buried  in 
Westminster  abbey,  during  the  life  of  his  father,  who  was 
sir  John  Bourchier,  K.  G.  fourth  son  of  William  earl  of 
Ewe,  and  baron  Berners,  by  marriage  with  Margery, 
daughter  and  heir  of  Richard  lord  Berners.  Lord  Bour- 
chier succeeded  his  grandfather.  May  16,  1474,  being 
then  only  seven  years  old.  He  was  educated  in  Baliol 
college,  Oxford,  and  afterwards  travelled  abroad,  and  re* 
turned  a  master  of  seven  languages,  and  a  complete  gen- 
tleman. In  1495  he  obtained  the  notice  of  Henry  VH.  by 
his  valour  in  quelling  the  fury  of  the  rebels  in  Cornwall 
and  Devonshire,  under  the  conduct  of  Michael  Joseph,  a 
blacksmith.  In  1513  he  was  captain  of  the  pioneers  at 
the  siege  of  Therouenne.  In  1514,  being  made  chancellor 
of  the  king's  exchequer  for  life,  he  attended  the  lady 
Mary,  the  king's  sister,  into  France,  to  her  marriage  with 

1  Moreri. — Lounger's  Common-pi  ace-book,  toI.  I. 
'  Moreri.— Baiilet  Jog«men$  des  Savank 


B  O  U  R  C  H  I  E  R,  221 

king  Lewis  XII.  and  in  1527  obtained  a  grant  from  the 
king  of  several  manors.     Afterwards  he  was  made  lieute- 
nant of  Calais  and  the  marches  adjoining  to  France,  and 
spending  most  of  his  time  there,  wrote  several  learned 
works  in  that  situation.     There  he  made  his  will,  March 
3,  1532,  bequeathing  his  body  to  be  buried  in  the  chancel 
of  the  parish  church  of  our  lady,  within  the  town  of  Calais, 
and  appointing  that  an  honest  priest  should  sing  mass  there 
for  his  soul,  by  the  space  of  three  years.     He  died  March 
16th  following,  leaving  by  Katherine  his  wife,  daughter  of 
Jdfhn  duke  of  Norfolk,  Joane  his  daughter  and  heir,  mar- 
ried to  Edmund  Knyvet  of  Ash'welthorpe  in  Norfolk,  esq. 
Lord  Berners  is  now  principally  known  for  his  transla- 
tion of  "  Froissart's  Chronicle,"  which  he  undertook  by 
command  of  the  king,  and  was  published  by  Pinson,  1523, 
1 525,  2  vols.  fol.     It  is  unnecessary  to  add  how  much  this 
translation  has  been  superseded  by  that  of  Thomas  Johne^^ 
esq.  which  lately  issued  from  the  Hafod  press,    and  has 
passed  through  two  editions  since   1803.     Others  of  lord 
Berners's  works  were  a  whimsical  medley  of  translations 
from  the  French,  Italian,  and  Spanish  novels,  which  seem 
to  have  been  the  mode  then,  as  they  were  afterwards  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.     These  were,  "  The  Life  of  Sir  Ar- 
thur, an  Armorican  Knight ;"  "  The  famous  exploits  of 
sir  Hugh  of  Bourdeaux: ;"  **  Marcus  Aurelius ;"  and  the 
**  Castle  of  Love."     He  also  composed  a  book  "  Of  the 
duties  of  the  inhabitants  of  Calais,"  and  a  comedy  entitled 
**  Ite  in  Vineam."     Of  all  these  an  ample  account  may  be 
seen  in  our  authorities.  ^ 

BOURCHIER,  or  BOWSCHYRE,  or  BOWCER  (Tho- 
mas), archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in  the  successive  reigns  of 
Henry  VL  Edward  IV.  Edward  V.  Richard  III.  arid  Henry 
VII.  was  son  of  William  Bourchier  earl  of  Ewe  in  Nor- 
mandy, and  the  countess  of  Stafford,  and  brother  of  Henry 
earl  of  Essex,  and,  consequently,  related  to  the  preceding 
lord  Berners.  He  had  his  education  in  Neville^s-inn  at 
Oxford,  and  was  chancellor  of  that  university  three  years, 
viz.  from  1433  to  1437.  His  first  dignity  in  the  church 
was  that  of  dean  of  the  collegiate  church  of  St.  Martin's  in 
London^  from  which,  in  1433,  he  was  advanced,  by  pope 
Eugenius  IV,  to  the  see  of  Worcester :  but  his  consecration 

1  Censura  Literariat,  Tol.  I»— Park't  Royal  and  Noble  Author8,«-*Wo0cl*f 
Ath.  TOl.  I. 


Mi  B  O  U  R  C  H  I  E  Rj 

was  deferred  to  May  15,  1436,  by  reason  (as  is  supposed^ 
of  a  defect,  in  age.     He  had  not  sat  a  full  year,  before  hef 
was  elected  by  the  monks  of  Ely  bishop  of  that  see,  and 
confirmed  by  the  pope  :  but^  the  king  refusing  his  consent, 
Bourchier  did  not  dare  to  comply  with  the  election,  for 
fear  of  incurring  the  censure  of  the  laws,  which  forbad^ 
under  very  severe  penalties,  the  receiving  the  pope's  bull 
without  the  king's  leave.     Nevertheless,  seven  or  eight 
years  after,  the  see  of  Ely  still  continuing  vacant,  and  the 
king   consenting,  he  was  translated  thither,  the  20th  of 
December  1443.     The  author  of  the  "  Historia  Eliensis" 
speaks  very  disadvantageousl^  of  him,  as  an  oppressor^ 
and  neglectful  of  his  duty  during  his  residence  on  that  see, 
which  was  ten  years  twenty-three  weeks  and  five  days*    At 
last  he  was   elected  archbishop  of  Canterbury,    in   the 
room  of  John  Kemp,  .the  23d  of  April  1454.     This  election 
was  the  more  remarkable,    as   the  monks  were  left  en- 
tirely to  their  liberty  of  choice,  without  any  interposition 
either  from  the  crown  or  the  papal  chair.     On  the  con-* 
trary,  pope  Nicolas  Vth's  concurrence  being  readily  ob- 
tained, the  archbishop  was  installed  with  great  solemnity. 
In  the  month  of  December  following,  he  received  the  red 
hat  from  Rome,  being  created  cardinal-priest  of  St.  Cyria- 
cu^s  in  Thermis,  but  Bentham  thinks  this  was  not  till  ]464. 
The  next  year,  he  was  made  lord  high  chancellor  of  Eng- 
land, but  resigned  that  office  in  October  the  year  follow- 
ing.    Soon  after  his  advancement  to  the  see  of  Canterbury^ 
be  began  a  visitation  in  Kent,  and  made  several  regula* 
tioiis   for  the   government  of  his  diocese.     He  likewise 
published  a  constitution  for  restraining  the  excessive  abuse 
of  papal  provisions,  but  deserved  most  highly  of  the  learned 
world,  for  being  the  principal  instrument  in  introducing 
the  noble  art  of  printing  into  England.     Wood's  account,,  . 
although  not  quite  correct,  is  worth  transcribing.     Bour^ 
chier  "  being  informed  that  the   inventor,  •  Tossan,   alias 
John  Guthenberg,  had  set  up  a  press  at  Harlem,  was  ex- 
tr^^mely  desirous  that  the  English  might  be  made  masters 
of  so  beneficial  an  art.     To  this  purpose  he  persuaded 
king   Henry  VL  to  dispatch   one  Robert  Tournour,  be- 
longing to  the  wardrobe,  privately  to  Harlem.     This  man, 
furnished  with  a  thousand  marks,  of  which  the  archbishop 
supplied  three  hundred,  embarked  for   Holland,   and,  to 
disguise  the  matter,  went  in  company  with  one  Caxton,  a 
joiercbaot  gf  London,  pretending  himself  to  be  of  the  same 


BO  U  R  C  H  I  E  R.  223 

profession.  Thus  concealing  his  name  and  his  business,  he 
went  first  to  Amsterdam,  then  to  Ley  den,  and  at  last  settled, 
at  Harlem  ;  where  having  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  and 
money,  he  sent  to  the  king  for  a  fresh  supply,  giving  bia 
Highness  to  understand,  that  he  had  almost  compassed  the 
enterprize.  In  short,  he  persuaded  Frederic  Corselli,  one 
of  the  compositors,  to  carry  off  a  set  of  letters,  and  embark 
vvithhim  in  the  night  for  London.  When  they  arrive^,  the 
archbishop,  thinking  Oxford  a  more  convenient  place  for 
printing  than  London,  sent  Corselli  down  thither.  And, 
lest  he  should  slip  away  before  he  had  discovered  the  whole 
secret,  a  guard  was  set  upon  the  press.  And  thus  the  mys- 
tery of  printing  appeared  ten  years  sooner  in  the  university 
of  Oxford  than  at  any  other  place  in  Europe,  Harlem  and 
Mentz  excepted.  Not  long  after,  there  were  presses  set  up 
at  Westminster,  St.  Alban's,  Worcester,  and  other  monas- 
teries of  note.  After  this  manner  printing  was  introduced 
into  England,  by  the  care  of  archbishop  Bourchier,  in  the 
year  of  Christ  i464,  and  the  third  of  king  Edward  IV." 

Bourchier,  we  are  told,  was  strangely  imposed  upon  by 
the  specious  pretences  of  Richard  duke  of  Gloucester, 
when  he  undertook  to  persuade  the  queen  to  deliver  up  the 
duke  of  York,  her  son,  into  the  protector's  hands.  He 
presided  over  the  church  thirty-two  years,  in  the  most 
troublesome  times  of  the  English  government,  those  of 
Henry  YI.  and  Edward  IV.  ^  He  also  performed  the 
marriage  ceremony  between  Henry  VII.  and  the  daugh- 
ter of  Edward  IV. ;  and  had  the  happiness  to  be  con- 
temporary with  many  prelates  of  distinction  in  English 
history.  He  was  certainly  a  man  of  learning;  though 
nothing  written  by  him  has  come  down  to  us,  if  we 
except  a  few  Synodical  decrees.  Dart  tells  us,  he 
founded  a  chantry,  which  was  afterwards  surrendered  to 
king  Henry  VIII.  Archbishop  Bourchier  died  at  his  pa« 
lace  of  Knowle,  on  Thursday  the  thirtiethof  March  1486,> 
and  was  buried  on  the  north  side  of  the  choir  of  his  cathe-- 
dral,  by  the  high  altar,  in  a  tomb  of  marble,  on  which  is  an 
inscription  merely  recording  the  event. 

Archbishop  Bourchier's  benefactions  are  stated  by  Mr. 
Bentham  as  follows  :  He  gave  to  the  prior  and  convent  of 
Christ  Church  in  Canterbury,  the  alien  priory  of  Cranfield 
in  Essex,  a  grant  of  which  he  had  obtained  from  the  crown 
in  the  time  of  Edward  the  Fourth.  To  the  church  of  Can- 
terbury, besides  the  image  of  the  Trinity,  he  bequeathed 


22«  B  O  U  R  C  H  1  E  R* 

twenty-seven  copes  of  red  tissue,  and  left  to  his  sitccessor,  in 
recompence  for  dilapidations,  2000/w ;  also  1251.  to  each  of 
the  universities,  to  be  kept  ^n  chests,  for  the  support  of  the 
poor  scholars.  The  chest  at  Cambridge,  which  was  united 
with  Biilingford^s,  was  in  being  in  1601,  when  100/.  was 
borrowed  out  of  it  for  the  use  of  the  univei*8ity  ;  but  this^' 
fund  was  afterward  embezzled,  through  the  iniquity  of  the 
times.  The  archbishop  left  also  legacies  to  several  mo- 
nasteries. ' 

BOURDALOUE  (Lewis),  a  Jesuit,  and  one  of  the  most 
eloquent  preachers  France  ever  produced,  was  born  at 
Bourges,  Aug.  20,  163*2,  and  entered  the  society  of  the 
Jesuits  in  1648.  After  having  passed  some  years  in  teach-  * 
ing  grammar,  rhetorick,  philosophy,  and  divinity,  his  ta- 
lents pointed  him  out  for  the  office  of  preacher,  and  the  ex- 
traordinaiy  popularity  of  bis  sermons  in  the  country,  deter- 
mined his  superiors  to  call  him  to  Paris  in  1669,  to  take 
the  usual  course  of  a  yearns  preaching  in  their  church  of.St« 
Louis,  which  soon  became  crowded  with  multitudes  of  both 
sexes  both  from  the  court  and  <»ty ;  nor  was  this  a  trans- 
ient impression,  as  whoever  heard  him  once  wished  td  hear 
Iiim  again,  and  even  Louis  XIV.  listened  with  pleasure,  al- 
though he  appears  to  have  introduced  subjects  in  his  dis- 
courses which  could  not  be  very  acceptable  in  his  conrt. 
On  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantz,  the  king  sent  him 
into  Languedoc  to  strengthen  the  new  or  pretended  con- 
verts from  the  heresies  of  the  protestant  faith,  and  we  are 
told  the  effect  of  his  eloquence,  was  great.  His  eloquence 
was  undoubtedly  superior  to  that  qf  his  contemporaries,  and 
he  has  justly  been  praised  for  introducing  a  more  pure 
style  than  was  customary  in  the  French  pulpits.  One  ef- 
fect of  his  preaching  was,  that  great  numbers  of  his  hearers 
requested  him  to  take  their  souls  into  his  hands,  and  be  the 
director  of  their  consciences,  in  other  words,  to  turn  father 
confessor,  with  which  he  complied,  and  frequently  sat  five 
or  six  hours  in  the  confessional,  completing  there,  says  his 
biographer,  what  he  had  only  sketched  in  the  pulpit.  He 
was  yet  more  admired  for.  his  charitable  attentions  and  the 
sick  and  poor,  among  whom  he  passed  much  of  his  time,  in 
religious  conference  and  other  acts  of  humanity.  He  died 
at  Paris  May  13,  1704,  universally  lamented  and  long  re- 
jmembered  as  the  most  attractive  and  eloquent  of  preachers. 

I  Biogr  Brit— BmUi»m'«  Ely* 


BOURDEILLES.  225 

He  Irad  preached  thirty 'four  years  at  court  and  in  Paris. 
Father  Bretonneau  published  two  editions  of  bis  works,  the 
first  of  16  vols*  Svo.  1716,  reckoned  the  best,  or  at  least, 
tbe  most  beautifully  printed ;  and  the  second  in  18  vols. 
12fno«  Comparisons  have  been  formed  between  hiin  and 
Massillon,  "but  several  are  still  inclined  to  g^ive  him  the  pre«» 
ference.  There  is  warmth,  zeal,  and  elegance  in  his  style 
and  reasoning,  but  he  is  frequently  declamatory  and  ver-* 
bose.  It  is  difficult,  however,  for  English  critics  to  appre- 
ciate the  merits  of  his  sermons,  calculated  as  they  were  for 
a  class  of  hearers  with  whose  taste  we  are  unacquainted* 
Of  his  catholic  spirit  we  have  an  instance  on  record,  that 
in  an  interview  with  bishop  Burnet  at  Paris,  he  told  tbe 
English  prelate  that  he  beUeved  ^'  all  honest  protestants 
would  be  saved.'* ' 

BOURDEILLES  {Peter  de),  better  known  by  the  name 
of  Brant6me,  of  which  he  was  abbot,  added  to  that  title 
those  of  lord  and  baron  of  Richemont,  chevalier,  gentle-* 
ii>aii  of  the  chamber' to  the  kings  Charles  IX.  and  Henry 
III.  and  chamberlain  to  the  duke  of  Alen9on.  He  had  the 
design  of  being  created  a  knight  of  Maltha  in' a  voyage  he 
made  to  that  isle  during  tbe  time  of  the  siege  in  1565.  He 
returned  to  France,  where  he  was  fed  with  vain  expecta- 
tions ;  but  he  received  no  other  reward  (as  he  tells  us  him- 
self) than  being^welcomedbythe^ kings  his  masters,  great 
lords,  princes,  sovereigns,  queens,  princesses,  &c.  He 
died  Julys,  1614,  at  the  age  of  87.  His  memoirs  were 
printed  in  ten  volumes,  l^mo,  viz.  four  of  the  French 
commsmdersj  two  of  foreign  commanders ;  two  of  women 
of  gallantry;  one  of  illustrious  ladies;  and  one  of  duels. 
There  is  another  edition  of  the  Hague,  1741,  15  vols.  12mOy 
on  account  of  the  supplement,  which  makes  five,  and  also 
a.  Paris  edition  1787,  8  vols.  Svo.  These  menK^irs  may  be 
of  some  use,  if  read  cautiously,  by  those- who  would  know 
tbe  private  history  of  Charles  IX.  of  Henry  III.  and  of 
Henry  IV.  Here  the  man  is  more  represented  than  the 
prince.  The  pleasure  of  seeing  these  kings  in  their  pecu- 
liarities in  private  life,  added  to  the  simplicity  of  Brant6me'« 
style,  renders  the  reading  of  his  memoirs  extremely  agree- 
able. But  some  of  his  anecdotes  are  grossly  indecent,  and 
jnany  of  them  fictions. 

^<  Braiitomeji"  (says  M.  Anquetil)  *'  is  in  the  bands  of 

^  Mor«ij.«-Biog.  Q all  ica«<— -Diet.  Hist. 

Vol.  VI.  Q. 


826         ^       B  O  U  R  D  E  I  L  L  E  S. 

m. 

ev^ry  body.  All  the  world  pretends  to  have  read  him ;  but 
he  ought  particularly  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  princes^ 
that  they  may  learn  how  impossible  it  is  for  them  to  hide 
themselves ;  they  they  have  an  importance  in  the  eyes  ^f 
their  courtiers,  which  draws  attention  to  all  their  actions ; 
and  that,  sooner  or  later,  the  most  secret  of  them  are  re* 
vealed  to  posterity.  The  reflections  that  would  occur,  on 
seeing  that  Brantdme  has.  got  together  all  the  little  transact* 
*tions,  all  the  idle  words  that  have  escaped  them,  all  •the 
actions  pretended  to  be  indifferent,  which  were  thought  to 
be  neglectisd-  and  lost,  and  which  nevertheless  mark  the 
character,  would  render  them  more  circumspect. — In  read* 
ing  Brantdme  a  problem  forces  itself  on  the  mind,  which 
it  is  difficult  to  «olve.^  It  is  very  common  to  see  that  author 
joining  together  the  most  discordant  ideas  in  regard  to  mo-« 
rals.  Sometimes  he  will  represent  a  woman  as  addicted  to 
the  most  infamous  refinements  of  libertinism,  and  then  will 
conclude  by  saying  that  she  was  prudent,  and  a  giood^Chris« 
tian.  So  likewise  of  a  priest,  of  a  monk,  or  any  other  ec'^ 
clesiastic,  he  will  relate  anecdotes  more  than  waiiton  ;  and 
will  tell  us  very  gravely  at  the  end,  that  this  man  lived  re* 
gularly  according  to  his  station.  Almqst  all  his  memoirs 
are  full  of  similar  contradictions  in  a  sort  of  epigran».  On 
which  1  have  this  questipn  to  propose :  Was  Brantdme  a  li- 
bertine ;  who,  in  order  to  sport  more  securely  with  religion 
and  morals,  affects  in  the  expression  a  respect  to  which  the 
very  matter  of  the  recital  gives  the  lie?  or.  Was  he  one  of 
those  persons  who  generally  go  under  the  name  of  amiable 
fops ;  who,  without  principles  as  without  design,  confound  vir-» 
tue  and  vice,  making  no  real  difference  between  one  character 
and  another?  Whatever  judgment  we  may  form  of  him,  we 
^ust  always  blame  him  for  omitting  to  observe  a  proper  re<>> 
verence  for.  decorum  in  his  writings,  and  for  frequently 
putting  modesty  t6  the  blush*  We  perceive  in  Brantdme 
the  character  of  those  young  men,  who,  making  a  p^rt  of 
the  court  by  their  birth,  pass  their  lives  in  it  without  pre* 
tensions  and  without  desires.  They  amuse  themselves  with 
every  thing :  if  an  action  has  a  ridiculous  side,  th^  seizQ 
it;  if  it  has 'not,  they  give  it  one,  Brantdme  only  ^kimj^ 
along  the  surface  of  a  subjects  he  knows  nothing  of  diving 
into  an  action,  and  unfolding  the  motives  that  gave  it  birtb» 
Re  gives  a  good  picture  of  what  he  has  seen,,  relates  in  sim-^ 
pie  terms  what  he  has  heard  ^  but  it  is  nothing  uncommon 
to  see  him  quit  bis  main  object^  return  to  it,  quit  it  again. 


BOURDEILLES.  227 

ft 

ud  ctonclude  by  thinking  no  more  of  it    With  all  this  irr 
xegularity  he  pleases,  because  he  amuses.*'  ^ 

BOURDEILLES  (Claude  de),  grand-nephew  of  the 
former,  comte  de  Montresor,  attached  to  Gaston  of  Or- 
leans, both  while  he  was  in  favour,  and  when  he  had  lost 
it,  was  several  times  deprived  of  his  liberty  for  serving  that 
prince.  Disgusted  with  the  tumult  and  the  artifices  of  the 
court,  he  took  up  the  resolution  of  enjoying  the  sweets  of 
prii^cy.  He  died  at  Paris  in  1663.  He  left  memoirs^ 
known  under  the  name  of  Montr^sor,  2  vols.  12mo,  which 
are  curious,  as  containing  many  particulars  of  the  history 
of  bis  time,  Montresor  makes  no  scruple  of  relating  the 
projects  he  formed  against  the  life  of  cardinal  Richelieu '. 

BOURDELOT  (John),  a  learned  French  critic,    who 
distinguished    himself    iu    the     republic  of   letters   by 
writipg   notes  upon   Lucian,  Petronius^  and  Heliodorus^ 
lived  St  the  end  of  the  16th,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the 
17th  century,  was  of  a,  good  family  Qf  Sens,  and  educated 
with  care.     He  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  belles 
lettres  and  of  the  learned  languages;  and  Baillet  tells  us, 
that  he  passed  for  a  great  connoisseur  in  the  oriental 
tongues,  and  in  the.  knowledge  of  manuscripts.  These  pur* 
9uics  did  not  hinder  him  from  being  consummate  in  the  law. 
He   exercised  the  oiEce  of  advocate  to  the  parliament  of 
Paris  in  1627,  when  Mary  of  Medicis,  hearing  of  his  un- 
common merit,  made  him  master  of  the  requests.    He  died 
suddenly  at  Paris  in   1638.     His  edition  of  Heliodorus, 
*  which  is  one  of  th6  best,  was  published  in  1619,  Svo: 
That  of  Lucian  at  Paris,  1615,  fol.  with  the  notes  of  Mi* 
cyllus,  Guerinus,  Marsilius,  and  Cognatus,  and  some  short 
and  learned  ones  by  himself,  at  that  time  a  very  young 
man.     Among  the  sources  from  which  Bourdelot  professes 
to  have  compiled  his  edition,  are  two  ancient  MS3.  in  the 
royal  library  at  Paris,  the  existence  of  which  Faber  (ad  Lu-* 
cianiTimonem,  c.  I.)  denies  in  the  most  positive  terms.  His 
Petronius  was  first  published  at  Paris,  12mo,  in  1618,  a 
very  scarce  edition^  and  reprinted  in   1645,  1663^  and 
1677.* 

BOURDELOT  (Peter  Michon),  nephew  to  the  above, 
and  educated  by  him,  was  a  very  celebrated  physician  at 
Paris,  where  he  died  Feb.  9,  1685,  aged  seventy-six.  In 
1634,  he  obtained  leave  to  adopt  the  name  of  Bourdelot, 

>  Morerir-^Sict.  Hiit.  *  Ibid.  »  Ibid.-rPibdin'i  Cluiiw. 

<12 


128  BOURDELOT, 

pursuant  to  his  uncle's  desire,  who  on  that  condition  left 
him  his  library  and  fortune.  He  wrote  some  treatises 
on  "  the  Viper,"  on  "  Mount  Etna,"  "  La  relation  des 
appartmens  de  Versailles,"  &c.  with  three  volumes,  of 
"  Conferences,"  which  were  pubUshed  by  M.  le  Gallois.  * 

BOURDELOT  (Peter  Bonnet),  physician  inordinary 
to  Louis  XIV.  and  first  physician  to  the  dnchess  of  Bur- 
gundy, was  sister's  son  to  the  preceding  P.  Miction  Bour- 
delot,  who  enjoined  him  to  change  his  name  from  Bonnet 
to  Bourdelot,  on  the  same  terms  that  himself  adopted  that 
name,  viz.  his  library  and  fortune.  P.  Bonnet  Bourdelot 
was  a  skilful  physician,  and  a  man  of  geqeral  literature. 
He  wrote  some  useful  notes  on  the  ^^  Bibliotheque  choisie 
de  M.  Colonii6s,"  which  were  added  to  the  Paris  edition  of 
173],  and  left  a  manuscript  catalogue  of  all  printed  medi- 
cal works,  with  lives  and  criticisms  on  the  authors.  He 
wrote  also  some  papers  on  the  history  of  music,  whiJh  were 
used  by  his  brother  Bonnet  in  his  "  Histoire  de  la  Mu- 
ftique,"  1715.'   He  died  in  1 709,  aged  fifty-four.  * 

BOURDON  (Sebastian),  a  very  celebrated  French 
painter,  was  boi^  at  Montpellier  in  1616.  His  father,  who 
was  a  glass-painter,  gave  him  the  first  instructions  in  his 
art.  When  only  seven  years  old,  one  of  his  uncles  brought 
him  to  Paris,  and  placed  him  with  a  very  indifferent  painter, 
whose  defects,  however,  were  supplied  by  young  Bour- 
don^s  natural  genius.  Returning  to  Bourdeaux  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  he  painted  the  cieling  of  a  neighbouring  cha- 
teau, and  then  went  to  Toulouse.  Finding  here  no  em- 
ployment, he  went  into  the  army  ;  but  his  captain,-  a  man 
of  some  taste,  judging  that  he  would  one  day  excel  in  bis 
profession  as  an  artist,  gave  him  his  discharge.  He  was 
eighteen  when  be  went  to  Italy,  and  .became  acquainted 
with  Clande  Lorrain,  whose  manner,  as  well  as  that  of 
Sacchi,  Caravagio,  and  Bamboccio,  he  imitated  with  great 
success.  After  a  residence  of  three  years  here,  be  hap- 
pened to  have  a  difference  with  a  painter,  who  threatened  to 
inform  against  him  as  a  Calvinist,  and  Bourdon  immediately 
set  out  for  Venice,  and  thence  to  France.  At  the  age  of 
twenty -seven  he  painted  his  famous  Crucifixion  of  St,  Peter 
for  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  at  Paris,  which  could  not  fail 
to  raise  his  reputation.  Du  Guernier,  a  miniature  painter, 
much  employed  at  court,  and  whose  sister  he  married,  ^ts^ 

^  Morcri.  >  Ibid.«— Hawkios^s  Uist,  of  Music. 


B  O  U  R  D  O  N.  229 

sisted  him  with  bis  advice,  and  procured  him  work.  But 
the  civil  wars  interrupting  the  progress  of  the  fine  arts,  in 
1652  he  v^ent  to  Sweden,  where  queen  Christina  appointed 
him  her  first  painter.  While  employed  on  many  works  for 
her,  chiefly  portrait's,  she  mentioned  to  him  one  day  some 
pictures  which  the  king  her  father  had  found  when  he  took 
Prague;  these  had  till  now  remained  unpacked,  and  she  de- 
sired Bourdon  to  examine  them.  Bourdon  reporied  fa- 
vourably of  them,  particularly  of  some  by  Corregio,  on 
which  the  queen  requested  he  would  accept  them  as  a  pre- 
sent from  her.  Bourdon,  with  corresponding  liberality  and 
disinterestedness,  represented  that  they  were  some  of  the 
finest  paintings  in  £urope,  and  that  her  majesty  ought  ne- 
ver to  part  with  them,  as  a  fit  collection  for  a  crowned  head. 
The  queen  accordingly  kept  them,  and  took  them  with  her 
to  Rome  when  she  abdicated  the  throne.  After  her  death, 
the  heirs  of  Don  Livio  Odeschalchi,  who  had  purchased  tbeonl, 
sold  them  to  the  regent  duke  of  Orleans ;  and  they  after- 
wards made  part  of  the  fine  collection  known  in  this  coun- 
try by  the  name.of  the  Orleans  Collection. 

Bourdon,  however,  not  findiilg  much  exercise  for  his  ge- 
nius in  Sweden,  and  the  queen  having  become  Roman 
catholic  after  her  abdication,  he  returned  to  France,  then 
more  favourable  to  the  arts,  and  soon  had  abundance  of 
employment.     Among  his  first  performances  after  his  re- 
turn, were  a  "  Dead  Christ,"  and  the  "  Woman  taken  in 
adultery.*'    Some  business  occasioning  him  to  go  to  Mont- 
pellier,  during  his    short  i^ay  there  he  painted  several 
portraitsof  persons  of  fashion.  A  n  anecdote  is  told,  that,  when 
in  this  place,  a  taylor  who  had  a  great  esteem  for  him^  and 
knew  he  was  not  rich,  sent  to  him,  by  the  hand  of  one 
Francis,  a  painter,  a  complete  suit  of  clothes,  cloak,  and 
bonnet.     Bourdon,  in  return,  sent  him  his  portrait  dressed 
in  this  suit ;  but  Francis,  thinking  it  a  very  fine  specimen 
of  the  art,  presented  the  taylor  with  *a  copy,  and  kept  the 
original.     In  1663  he  returned  to  Paris,  where  he  conti- 
nned  to  execute  many  fine  pictures,  until  his  death  in 
1671. 

He  bad  an  uncommon  readiness  of  hand,  though  he  was 
frequently  incorrect,  and  was  particularly  so  in  the  extre- 
mities of  his  figures.  As  a  proof  of  his  expeditious  n^an- 
ner  of  painting,  it  is  reported,  that  in  one  day  he  painted 
twelve  portraits  after  life,  as  large  as  nature,  and  those  not 
the  worst  of  his  performances*    His  touch  is  extremely 


«30  B  O  U  R  D  O  K. 


lightj  his  colouring  good,  his  attitudes  are  full  of  variety, 
and  sometimes  graceful,  and  his  expression  is  lively  and 
animated.  However,  it  must  be  confessed,  that  his  con- 
ceptions v^ere  often  extravagant,  nor  would  many  of  his 
compositions  abide  a  critical  examination.  His  landscapes 
are  in  the  taste  of  Titian,  but  they  seem  rather  designed 
from  imagination  than  after  nature  ;  yet,  in  several  of  them, 
the  product  of  that  imagination  has  a  beautiful  effect ;  and 
he  usuajly  enriched  his  pastoral  scenes  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  figures  and  animals.  His  pictures  are  seldom  finish- 
ed, and  those  which  appear  most  so,  are  not  always  his  best. 
The  most  esteemed  work  of  Bourdon  is  the  Martyrdom  of 
St.  Peter,  in  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  at  Paris,  which  is 
considered  as  a  curiosity.  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  had  his 
**  Return  of  the  Ark  from  captivity,*'  which  he  bequeathed 
to  sir  George  Beaumont.  Sir  Joshua  in  his  fourteenth 
discourse  speaks  very  highly  of  this  picture.  As  a  proof 
of  the  value  of  Sebastian  Bourdon^s  pictures  in  this  country, 
we  may  mention  that  in  1770,«  a  holy  family  by  him  was 
sold  by  the  late  Mr.  Christie,  for  341/.  5s. 

Sebastian  Bourdon  has  also  a  place  among  engravers. 
His  etchings,  which  are  numerous,  are  executed  in  a  bold, 
masterly  style  ;  and  convey  a  clear  idea  of  his  manner  of 
painting.  The  lights  are  broad,  the  draperies  are  formed 
with  great  taste,  and  the  folds  well  marked,  though  some- 
times too  dark  and  hard  upon  the  lights ;  the  heads  are 
very  expressive  ;  the  back-grounds  are  finely  conceived, 
and  executed  in  a  grand  style.  Some  of  the  principal  from 
his  own  compositions  are  the  following ;  the  **  Seven  acts 
of  mercy ;"  the  "  Flight  into  Egypt,"  and  the  "  Return 
from  thence  ;'*  several  subjects  of  the  **  Virgin  and  Child  ;'• 
in  one  of  which  is  seen  a  woman  washing  linen,  hence  dis- 
tinguished by  the  name  of  the  washer- woman  ;  the  **  Re- 
turn of  the  ark,"  from  the  above-mentioned  picture,  said 
to  be  very  scarce ;  the  "  Baptism  of  the  eunuch ;"  **  Twelve 
large  landscapes,"  very  spirited  and  fine  prints.  * 

BOURG.     SeeDUBOURG. 

BOURGELAT  (Claude),  veterinary  surgeon,  was  a 
native  of  Lyons,  and  in  his  youth  a  soldier,  after  which  he 
studied  law,  but  quitted  that  pursuit  on  being  appointed 
chief  of  the  riding-school  of  Lyons,  where  he  seems  to 
have  discovered  the  employment  for  which  he  was  best 

1  I)'ADscrvUio.-4'Uluostoih-*Strutt. 


r 


B  0  U  R  G  E  L  A  T.  SSI 

fitted.  '  From  this  time  he  applied  himself  to  the  principles 
of  horsemansjiip,  which  he  detailed  in  his  "  Nouveau 
Newcastle,  ou  Trait6  de  Cavalerie,"  Lausanne,  1747,  8vo. 
He  laboured  no  less  assiduously  to  rescue  the  veterinary 
art  from  the  hands  of  ignorance  and  empiricism,  and  with 
that  view  published  in  1750,  his  **  Elemens  d'hippiatrique, 
ou  Nouveaux>principes  sur  la  connoissance  des  chevaux,^' 
Lyons,  3  vols.  8vo.  The  knowledge  he  displayed  in  this 
work  probably  rendered  it  easy  for  him  to  obtain  the  leave 
of  government  to  establish  a  veterinary  school  at 'Lyons,  of 
the  great  utility  of  which  the  public  soon  became  sensible, 
and  many  able  scholars  educated  under  Bourgelat  extended 
,  this  new  branch  of  the  medical  art  to  every  part  of  the 
kingdom.  In  1765,  he  published  hiii  ^^Matiere  medicale 
raisonn^e  a  Pusage  de  Tecole  veterinaire,"  Lyons,  8vo. 
His  success  at  Lyons  induced  the  government  to  invite  him 
to  Paris,  and  he  founded  a  second  school  at  Alford,  near 
Charenton,  and  published  several  elementary  treatises  for 
the  use  of  his  scholars,  such  as  '^  Cours  theorique  et pra- 
tique des  bandages ;""  Trait6  de  la  ferrure,"  1776,  l^o; 
**  L*Anatomie  compar^e  de  tons  les  animaux,"  and  "  Me- 
moire  sur  les  maladies  contagieuses  du  betail,''  1776,  4to« 
After  a  life  spent  on  this  important  science,  he  died  ia 
1779,  aged  sixty-seven.  At  his  death  he  bore  the  titles 
of  inspector-general,  of  the  veterinary  schools,  and  com- 
missary-general of  the  stud.  Besides  his  favourite  pursuit, 
he  was  a  man  of  general  knowledge.  ^ 

BOURGEOIS  (Sir  Francis),  knight  of  the  Polish  or- 
der of  Merit,  and  an  artist  of  distinguished  reputation,  was 
the  descendant  of  a  considerable  family  in  Switzerland^  but 
was  born  in  London  in  1756.  His  early  destination  was 
the  army,  under  the  patronage  of  lord  Heathfield,  who  was 
his  father's  friend ;  but  having  been  instructed  while  a 
child  in  the  rudiments  of  painting,  by  a  foreigner  of  incon-* 
siderable  merit  as  a  horse-painter,  be  became  so  attached 
to  the  study,  as  soon  to  relinquish  the  military  profession, 
and  devote  himself  wholly  to  the  pencil.  For  this  purpose 
he  was  placed  under  the  tuition  of  Loutherbourg,  and  hav- 
ing, from  his  connexions  and  acquaintance,  access  to  many 
of  the  most  distinguished  collections,  he  soon  acquired 
considerable  reputation  by  his  landscapes  and  sea-pieces. 
In  1776,  be.  travelled  through  Italy,  France,  and  Holland, 

^  Diet,  Hist, 


/ 


SS2  BOURGEOIS. 

'where  lii»  correct  knowledge  of  the  language  of  each  couH'* 
try,  added  to  the  politeness  of  his  address, .  and  the  plea- 
sures of  his  conversation,  procured  him  an  introduction  to 
the  best  society,  and  most  valuable  repositories  of  the  arts 
on  the  continent.  At  his  return  to  England,  be  ejshibited 
several  specimens  of  his  studies  at  the  royal  academy,  which 
obtained  him  reputation  and  patronage.  In  1791  he  watf 
appointed  painter  to  the  king  of  Poland,  whose  brother, 
the  prince  primate,  had  been  much  pleased  with  his  per- 
formances during  his  residence  in  this  country ;  and  at  the 
same  time  he  received  the  honour  of  knighthood  of  the 
order  of  Merit,  Which  was  afterwards  confirmed  by  his  pre- 
sent majesty,  who,  in  1794,  appointed  him  landscape* 
painter  to  the  king.  Previous  to  this  he  had,  in  1792, 
been  elected  a  member  of  the  royal  academy.  Some  time 
before  bis  death,  by  the  will  of  the  late  Noel  Desenfans, 
esq.  an  eminent  picture-dealer,  he  became  possessed  of 
sufficient  property  to  render  a  laborious  application  to  his 
profession  no  longer  necessary,  and  from  that  time  be  lived 
in  the  circle  of  his  friends,  highly  respected  for  his  talents 
and  agreeable  manners.  .He  died  Jan.  8,  1811,  at  his  bouse 
in  Portland- street,  bequeathing  his  fine  collection  of  pic- 
tures, and  his  fortune,  to  Pulwich  college.  According  to 
the  terms  of  his  will,  he  leaves  the  whole  of  Jtbese  pictures, 
besides  10,000/.  to  keep  them  in  dpe  preservation,  and 
2,000/'for  the  purpose  of  repairing  the  gallery  in  the  col- 
lege for  their  reception.  He  also  bequeathed  legacies  of 
1000/.  each  to  the  master  of  the  college,  and  to  the  chap- 
>  lain  :  and  the  fellows  of  the  college  are  to  be  the  residuary 
legatees,  and  are  to  possess,  for  its  advantage,  all  the  rest 
of  his  property,  df  every  denomination.  Most  part  of  this 
will,  however,  does  not  take  effect  until  after  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Desenfans,  the  widow  of  his  benefactor;  and  after 
that  event  he  directs  that  the  body  of  the  late  Noel  Oesen* , 
fans,  which  is  now  deposited  in  a  sarcophagus  within  a 
niausoleuip  in  a  chapel,  attached  to  his  late  house  in  Char- 
lotCe-street,  Portland-place,  shall  be  removed,  together 
with  his  own  body  (which  has,  by  his  desire,  been  depo- 
sited in  the  same  mausoleum),  and  entombed  in  a  sarco- 
phagus, to  be  placed  in  the  chapel  of  Dulwich  college. 
So  singular  a-  will)  with  respect  at^  least  to  the  place 
chosen  for  this  collection,  excited  ipuch  surprise.  The 
following  circumstances,  however,  which  have  been  c6m- 
municated  by  an  intimate  friend  of  the  testator^  may  ia 


BOURGEOIS.  233 

* 

some  measure  account  for  it.  After  sir  Francis  became 
possessed  of  the  Desenfans  c6llection,  by  the  ownet's 
friendly  will  in  his  favour,  he  wished  to  purchase  the  fee 
simple  of  his  fine  house  in  Charlotte-street,  enlarge  it,  and 
endow  it  as  a  perpetual  repository  for  the  collection,  easily 
accessible  to  the  public,  and  particularly  to  students  as  a 
school  of  art ;  but  unluckily,  his  landlorc^  a  nobleman  lately 
deceased,  refused  his  consent,  although  he  afterwards  ex« 
pressed  an  inclination  to  grant  it,  when  too  late.  Sir  Fran- 
cis then  conceived  the  design  of  bequeathing  the  collectioii^ 
to  the  British  Museum,  but  did  not  execute  it,  from  a  feir 
that  the  pictures  might  not  be  kept  entire  and  unmixed,  he 
being  told  that  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  trustees  to  jdis-  • 
pose  of  what  might  appear  superfluous  or  inferior.  Such 
was  his  respect  for  his  deceased  friend,  that  his  only  am-* 
bition  was  to  discover  a  place  where  the  collection  might 
he  kept  together,  and  known  in  perpetuum,  not  as  his,  but 
as  the  Desenfans  Collection.  By  whom  Dulwich  col- 
lege, an  hospital  for  poor  men  and  women,  remote  from 
the  residence  of  artists  and  men  of  taste,  was  suggested, 
we  know  not.  It  was  a  place  sir  Francis  had  probably  never 
before  seen ;  but,  having  once  visited  it,  and  been  informed 
that  his  terms  might  be  complied  with  therfe,  without  risk  of 
alteration,  he  disposed  of  his  property  as  we  have  related. 
'  As  an  artist,  sir  Francis  may  be  placed  in  the  second 
rank.  He  was  a  close  imitator  of  Loutherbourg.  His  con- 
ception of  bis  subject,  as  well  as  the  grouping  of  his 
figures,  was  happy,  and  in  conformity  with  nature ;  but  he 
was  often  defective  in  his  finishing,  and  so  much  a  man- 
nerist in  his  colouring,  that  his  paintings  may  be  recog- 
nized by  a  very  distant  glance.  * 

BOURGET  (DoM  John),  was  born  at  the  village  of 
Beaumains  near  Falaise,  in  the  diocese  of  Seez,  in  1724. 
He  was  educated  at  th^  grammar-school  at  Caen,  whence 
he  was  removed  to  that  university,  and  pursued  his  studies 
with  great  diligence  and  success  till  17453^  when  he  be- 
came a  Benedictine  monk  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Martin  de 
Seez,  then  en  regk,  that  is,  under  the  direction  of  a  con- 
ventual abbot.  Some  time  after  this,  Dom  Bourget  was 
appointed  prior  claustral  oif  the  said  abbey,  and  continued 
six  years  in  that  office,  when  he  was  nominated  prior  of 
Tiron  en  Perche ;  whence  being  translated  to  the  abbey 

>  Gent  Mag.  isn.— *Lysons*i  Snviroas,  Suppl  VoUme. 


554  B  O  U  R  G  E  T. 

6f  St  Stephen  at  Caen,  in  the  capacity  of  sub-prior,  be 
manage^  the  temporalities  of  that  religious  house  during 
two  years,  as  he  did  their  spiritualities  for  one  year  longer  ; 
affter  which,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  house,  he  re- 
signed his  office.     His  superiors,  sensible  of  hi&  merit  and 
learning,  removed  him  thence  to  the  abbey  of  Bee,  where 
he  resided  till  1764.     He  was  elected  an  honorary  member 
of  the  society  of  antiquaries  of  London,  Jan.  10,  1765 ;  in 
which  year  he  returned  to  the  abbey  of  St.  Stephen  at 
Caen,  where  he  contiaiued  to  the  time  of  his  death.  These 
honourable  offices,  to  which  he  was  promoted  on  account 
of  his  great  abilities,  enabled  him  not  only  to  pursue  bis 
favourite  study  of  the  history  and  antiquities  of  some  of-  the 
principal  Benedictine  abbies  in  Normandy,  but  likewise 
"gave  him  access  to  all  their  charters,  deeds,  register-books, 
&c.  &c.     These  he  examined  with  great  care,  and  left  be- 
hind him  in  MS.  large  and  accurate  accounts  of  the  abbies 
of  St.  Peter  de  Jumieges,    St.  Stephen,  and  the  Holy 
Trinity  at  Caen  (founded  by  William  the  Conqueror  and 
his  queen  Matilda),  and  a  very  particular  history  of  the 
abbey  of  Bee.     These  were  all  written  in  French.     The 
History  of  the  royal  abbey  of  Bee  (which  he  presented  to 
Dr.  Ducarel  in  1764)  is  only  an  abstract  of  his  larger  work. 
This  ancient  abbey,  (which  has  produced  several  arch- 
bishops of  Canterbury  tmd  other  illustrious  prelates  of  this 
kingdom)  is  frequently  mentioned  by  our  old  historians. 
The  death  of  this  worthy  Benedictine  (which  happened  on 
new-year's  day,  1776)  was  occasioned  by  his  unfortunate 
neglect  of  a  hurt  he  got  in  his  leg  by  falling  down  two  or 
three  steps  in  going  from  the  hall  to  the  cloister  of  the 
abbey  of  St.  Stephen  at  Caen,  being  deceived  by  the  am- 
biguous feeWe  light  of  a  glimmering  and  dying  lamp  that 
was  placed  in  that  passage.   He  lived  universally  esteemed, 
and  died  sincerely  regretted  by  all  those  who  were  ac- 
quainted with  him ;  and  was  buried  in  the  church  of  the 
said  abbey,  Jan.  3,   1776.  * 

BOURGUET  (Louis),  who  was  born  at  Nimes  in  1678, 
became  celebrated  for  his  proficiency  in  natural  history. 
The  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes  having  forced  bis 
family  to  go  and  seek  an  asylum  in  Switzerland,  Zurich 
was  indebted  to  them  for  its  manufactures  of  stockings, 
muslins,  and  several  silk  stufFs;.     Young  Bourguet  w^nt 

1  Memoirs  by  Dr,  IHtcarelj  prefixed  to  the  History  of  the  alibey  of  B««w 


B  O  U  R  G  U  E  T.  235 

ihrough  a  course  of  study  there;  afterwards  married  at 
Berne,  and  settled  at  Neufch&tel,  where  he  became  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy  and  mathematics.  He  died  Dec.  31, 
2742,  at  the  age  of  64,  after  publishing,  1.  A  Letter  on 
the  formation  of  salts  and  crystals;  Amsterdam,  1729, 
12mo.  2.  *^  La  bibliotheque  Italique,""  16  vols.  8vo.  This 
journal,  begun  at  Geneva  iii  1728,  found  a^*welcome  re- 
ception among  the  learned,  as  a  soKd  and  useful  book  de- 
serving to  be  continued,  although  deficient  in  style,  and 
hastily  written.  He  wrote  also,  "  Trait6  des  petrifactions," 
Paris,  1742,  4to,  and   1778,  Svo.     Many  of  his  learned 

!>apers  on  subjects  of  natural  history  were  inserted  in  the 
iterary  journals^  and  bis  eloge  is  in  the  Helvetic  Journal 
for  1745.* 

.  BOURIGNON  (Antoinette),  a  famous  female  enthu- 
siast, was  born  Jan.  13,  1616,  at  Lisle  in  Flanders.  She 
came  into  the  world  so  very  deformed,  that  a  Qonsultation 
was  held  in  the  family  some  days  about  stifling  her  as  a 
monstrous  birth.  But  if  she  sunk  almost  (>eneath  humanity 
in  her  exterior,  her  interior  seems  to  have  been  raised  as 
much  above  it.  For,  at  four  years  of  age,  she  not  only 
took  notice  that  the  people  of  Lisle  did  not  live  up  to  the 
principles  of  Christianity  whicb  they  professed,  but  ear- 
Jiestly  desired  to  be  removed  into  some  more  Christian 
country ;  and  her  progress  was  suitable  to  this  beginning. 
Her  parents  lived  unhappily  together,  Mr.  Bourignon  using 
his  spouse  with  too  much  severity,  especially  in  hi^passion: 
.upon  which  occasions,  Antoinette  endeavoured  to  soften 
•him  by  her  infant  embraces,  which  bad  some  little  effect ; 
but  the  mother's  uuhappiness  gave  the  daugl^ter  an  utter 
aversion  to  matrimony.  Thisr  falling  upon  a  temper  strongly 
tinctured  with  enthusiasm,  she  grew  a  perfect  devotee  to 
virginity,  and  became  so  immaculately  chaste,  that,  if  her 
own  word  may  be  taken,  she  never  had,  in  all  her  life,  not 
even  by  temptation  or  surprise,  the  least  thought  unworthy 
4)f  the  purity  of  the  virgin  state :  nay,  she  possessed  the 
gift  of  chastity  in  so  abundant  a  manner,  that  her  presence 
and,  her  conversation  shed  an  ardour  of  continence  over  all 
who  knew  her. 

Her  father,  however,  to  whom  all  this  appeared  unna- 
tural, considered  her  as  a  mere  woman ;  and,  having  found 
ap  agreeable  match,  promised  her  in  marriage  to  a  French- 
••♦ 

>  3d[ererL««*Dict.  Hist. 


\ 


S36  B  O  U  R  I  G  N  O  N. 

man.     Easter-day,  1636,  was  fixed  for  the  nuptials ;  but,  to 
avoid  the  execution,  the  young  lady  fled,  under  the  disguise 
of  a  hermit,  but  was  stopped  at  Blacon,  a  village  of  Hai- 
nault,  on  suspicion  of  her  sex.     It  was  an  officer  of  horse 
quartered  in  the  village  who  seized  ber ;  he  had  observed 
something  extraordinary  in  her,  and  mentioning  her  to  the 
archbishop  df  Cambray,  that  prelate  came  to  examine  her, 
and  sent  her  home.    Bdt  being  pressed  again  with  proposals 
of  matrimony,  she  ran  away  once  more :  and,  going  to  the 
archbishop,  obtained  his  licence  to  set  up  a  small  society  in 
the  country,  with  some  other  maidens  of  her  taste  and  tem- 
per.    That  licence,  however,  was  soon  retracted,  and  An- 
toinette obliged  ta  withdraw  into  the  country  of  Liege, 
whence  she  returned  to  Lisle,  and  passed  many  years  there 
privately  in  devotion  and  great  simplicity.     When  her  patri- 
monial estate  fell  to  her,  she  resolved  at  first  to  renounce  it ; 
but,  changing  her  mind,  she  took  possession  of  it ;  and  as 
she  was  satisfied  with  a  few  conveniences,  she  lived  at  little 
expence :  and  bestowing  no  charities,  her  fortune  increased 
apace.     For  thus  taking  possession  of  her  estate,  she  gave 
three  reasons :  first,  that  it  might  not  come  into  the  hands 
of  those  who  had  no  right  to  it ;  or  secondly,  of  those  who 
would  have  made  an  ill  use  of  it ;  thirdly,  God  shewed  her 
that  she  should  have  occasion  for«  it  to  his  glory.     And  as 
to  charity,  "she  says,  the  deserving  poor  are  not  to  be  met 
vwith  in^this  world.     This  patrimony  must  have  been  some- 
thing considerable,  since  she  speaks  of  several  maid  ser- 
vants in  her  houses.     What  she  reserved,  however,  for  this 
purpose,  became  a  temptation  to  one  John  de  Saulieu,  the 
son  of  a  peasant,  who  resolved  to  make  his  court  to  her ; 
and,  getting  admittance  under  the  character  of  a  prophet, 
insinuated  himself  into  thelady^s  favour  by  devout  acts 
and  discourses  of  the  most  refined  spirituality.     At  length 
be  declared  his  passion,  modestly  enough  at  first,  and  was 
easily  checked ;  but  finding  her  intractable,  he  grew  so 
insolent  as  to  threaten  to  murder  her  if  she  would  not  com- 
ply.    Upon  this  she  had  recourse  to  the  provost,  who  sent 
two  men  to  guard  her  house ;  and  in  revenge  Saulieu  gave 
out,  that  she  had  promised  him  marriage,  and  even  bedded 
with  him.     But,  in  conclusion,  they  were  reconciled  ;  he 
retracted  his  slanders,  and  addressed,  himself  to  a  young 
devotee  at  Ghent,  whom  he  found  more  tractable.     This, 
however,  did  not  free  her  from  other  applications  of  a 
similar  nature.     The  parson's  nephew  of  St,  Andrew's  pa* 
rish  near  Lisle  fell  ip  love  with  her;  and  as  her  hous^ 


B  O  U  R  I  G  N  a  N,  «?7 

stood  in  the  neighbourhood,  he  frequently  environed  it. 
In  order  to  force  an  entrance.  Our  recluse  threatened  to 
quit  her  post,  if  she  was  not  delivered  from  this  trouble^ 
«ome  suitor,  and  the  uncle  drove  him  from  his  house: 
upon  which  he  grew  desperate,  and  sometimes  discharged 
a  aiusquet  through  the  nun's  chamber,  giving  out  that  she 
was  his  espoused  wife.  This  made  a  noise  in  the  city ; 
the  devotees  were  offended,  and « threatened  to  af&ont 
Bourignon,  if  they  met  her  in  the  streets.  At  length  she 
wa3  relieved  by  the  preachers,  who  published  from  their 
pulpits,  that  the  report  of  the  marriage  was  a  scandalous 
falsehood. 

Some  time  afterwards  she  quitted  her  house,  and  put 
herself  as  governess  at  the  head  of  an  hospital,  where  sh^ 
locked  herself  up  in  the  cloister  in  1658,  having  taken  the 
order  and  habit  of  St.  Austin.  But  here  again,  by  a  very 
singular  fate,  she  fell  into  fresh  trouble.  Her  hospital  was 
f&und  to  be  infected  with  sorcery  so  much,  that  even  all 
the  little  girls  in  it  had  an  engagement  with  the  devil. 
This  gave  room  to  suspect  the  governess ;  who  was  ac- 
cordingly taken  up  by  the  magistrates  of  Lisle,  and  exa- 
mined :  but  nothing  could  be  proved  against  her.  How« 
ever,  to  avoid  further  prosecutions,  she  retired  to  Ghent 
in  1662  :  where  she  no  sooner  was,  than  she  professed  that 
great  secrets  were  revealed  to  hen  About  this  time  she 
acquired  a  friend  at  Amsterdam,  who  proved  faithful  to 
her  as  long  as  he  lived, .  and  left  her  a  good  estate  at  his 
death  :  his  name  was*  De  Cordt :  he  was  one  of  the  fathers 
of  the  oratory,  and  their  superior  at  Mechlin,  and  was  di- 
rector also  of  an  hospital  for  poor  children.  This  prose- 
lyte was  her  first  spiritual  birth,  and  is  said  to  have  given 
her  the  same  kind  of  bodily  pangs  and  throes  as  a  natural 
labour,  which  was  the  case  also  with  her  other  spiritual 
children ;  and  she  perceived  more  or  less  of  th^se  pains, 
according  as  the  truths  which  she  had  declared  operated 
more  ot  less  strongly  on  their  minds.  Whence  another  of 
her  disciples,  a  certain  archdeacon,  talking  with  De  Cordt 
before  their  mother  on  the  good  and  new  resolution  which 
they  had  taken,  the  latter  observed,  that  her  pains  were 
much  greater  for  him  than  for  the  former :  the  archdeacon, 
looking  upon  De  Cordt,  who  was  fat  and  corpulent, 
whereas  he  was  a  little  man  himself,  said,  smiling,  <'  It  is 
no  wonder  that  our  mother  has  had  a  harder  labour  for  you 
than  for  me,  since  you  are  a  great,  huge  child,  whereas  I 


M8  B  O  U  R  I  G  N  O  n: 

^sm  but  a  little  one ;"  which  discomposed  the  gravity  of  a$ 
the  faces  ptesent :  This  has  been  recorded  as  a  proof  that 
our  Antoinette's  disciples  sometimes  descended  from  the 
sublimity  of  their  devotion  to  the  innocent  raillery  of  peo- 
ple of  the  world. 

Our  prophetess  staid  longer  than  she  intended  atAmster" 
dam,  where  she  published  her  book  of  "The  Ught  of  the 
world,"  and  some  others ;  and  finding  all  sorts  crowd  to 
▼iisit  her,  she  entertained  hopes  of  seeing  her  doctrine  ge- 
nerally embraced;  but  in  that  she  was  sadly  deceived. 
For,  notwithstanding  her  conversations  with  heaven*  were, 
as  it  is  said,  frequent,  so  that  she  understood  a  great  num- 
ber of  things  by  revelation,  yet  she  composed  more  books 
there  than  she  had  followers.  The  truth  is,  her  visions 
and  revelations  too  plainly  betrayed  the  visionary  and  en- 
thusiastic temper  of  her  mind,  and  many  of  them  were  to« 
grossly  indecent  to  proceed  from  a  mind  that  was  not 
tainted  with  insanity.  She  had  likewise  some  qualities  not 
very  well  calcalated  to  attract  proselytes  ;  her  temper  wslb 
morose  and  peevish ;  and  she  was  extremely  avaricious  smd 
greedy  of  amassing  riches.  This  quality  rendered  her  ut^ 
terly  uncharitable  as  to  the  branch  of  almsgiving,  andsoim** 
placably  unforgiving  to  such  poor  peasants  as  had  robbed 
her  of  any  trifle,  that  she  used  to  prosecute  them  with  the 
utmost  rigour* 

Her  stay  at  Amsterdam  was^  chiefly  owing  to  the  happi- 
ness she  had  in  her  dear  De  Cordt :  that  proselyte  had  ad-«» 
Tanc6d  almost  all  his  estate  to  some  relations,  in  order  to 
drain  the  island  of  Noordstrahdt  in  Holstein,  by  which 
means  he  had  acquired  some  part  of  the  island^  together 
with  the  tithes  and  government  of  the  whole.  He  aold  also 
an  estate  to  madanie  Bourignon,  who  prepared  to  retijre 
thither  in  1668 ;  but  she  rejected  the  proposal  of  Labadio 
and  his  disciples  to  se^le  themselves  there  with  hen  It 
seems  they  had  offered  t)e  Cordt  a  large  sum  of  money  to 
purchase  the  whole  island,  and  thereby  obtained  his  x^n- 
sent  to  their  settlement  in  it :  this  was  cutting  the  grasd 
under  her  feet,  an  injury  which  she  took  effectual  care  to 
prevent.  Accordingly  De  Cordt  dying  on  the  l'2th  of  No-» 
vember   1669,  made  her  his  heir^:    which  inheritance, 

*  This  fanatic  designed  Noordstrandt  He  bad  sold  them  a  part,  giving  up  att 

for  the  persecuted  saints  of  God  ;  and  the  rest,  with  his  rights  and  pretensions 

taking  the  Jansenists  to  be  snch,  he  to  the  oratory  of  Mechlin,  under  cer- 

drew  them  from  ^11  parts  into  the  iyle,  uia  couditiont,  which  m%  being 


r 


B  O  U  R  I  G  N  O  N: 


ii9 


Itowever,  brought  her  into  new  troubles.  Many  law-suitil 
were  raised  to  binder  her  from  enjoying  it :  nor  were  her 
doctrine  and  religious  principles  spared  on  the  occasion* 
However,  she  left  Holland  in  1671,  to  go  into  Noordstrand€. 

But  stopping  in  her  way  at  several  places  of  Holstein, 
where  she  dismissed  smne  disciples  (who  followed  her,  she 
found,  for  the  sake  of  interest)  she  plied  her  pen,  which 
was  so  prolific  tbat  she  found  it  convenient  to  provide  her- 
self with  a  press,  where  she  printed  her  books  in  French, 
Dutch,  and  German.  Among  others  she  answered  all  her 
adversaries  in  a  piece  entitled,  "  The  testimony  of  truth^** 
in  which  she  handled  the  ecclesiastics  in  a  severe  manner. 
In  these  controversial  pieces  she  demonstrated  her  want  of 
the  first  fundamental  of  all  religion  both  natural  and  re- 
vettled,  humility.  Two  Lutheran  ministers  raised  the 
adarm  against  her  by  some  books,  in  which  they  declared, 
chat  people  had  been  beheaded  and  burnt  for  opinions 
more  supportable  than  hers.  The  Labbadists  also  wrote 
against  her,  and  her  press  was  prohibited.  In  this  distress 
she  retired  to  Hensbergin  1673,  but  was  discovered,  and 
treated  so  ill  by  the  people  under  the  character  of  a  sor- 
ceress, that  she  was  very  happy  in  getting  secretly  away. 
Afterwards,  being  driven  from  city  to  city,  she  was  at  length 
forced  to  abandon  Uolstiein,  and  went  to  Hamburgh  ia 
1676,  as  a  place  of  more  security  ;  but  her  arrival  was  no 
ftooner  known,  than  they  endeavoured  to  seize  her.  On 
this  she  lay  hid  for  some  days,  and  then  went  to  East  Fries- 
land,  where  she  got  protection  from  the  baron  of  Lat2- 
bourg,-  and  was  made  governess  of  an  hospital. 

It  is  observable, '  that  all  other  passions  have  tlieir  holi-« 
days,  but  avarite  never  suffers  its  votaries  to  rest.  When 
our  devotee  accepted  the  care  of  this  charity,  she  declared 
tbat  she  consented  to  contribute  her  industry  both  to  the 
building  and  to  the  distribution  of  the  goods,  and  the  in- 
i^ection  of  the  poor,  but  without  engaging  any  part  of  her 


•erved,  he  recovered  his  estate,  but  not 
without  great  law>suits;  whereby  he 
was  imprisoDed  at  Amsterdam,  la 
March  1669,  at  the  suit  of  the  fomous 
Jansenist  Mr.  St.  Amour. .  Before  he 
went  to  prison,  he  was  severely  cen- 
sored by  a  bishop,  who  treated  him  as 
a  heretic,  and  as  a  man  who  coveted 
the  goods  of  this  world,  te  the  detriment 
of  those  whom  he  had  deceived,  by 
MlHog.them  lands  in  Noordstrandty  ai 


a  man  given  to  drinking ;  suspected  of 
having  lost  both  faith  and  charity ;  and 
who  had  even  Suffered  himself  to  be  se- 
duced by  a  woman  of  Lisle,  with  whom 
he  U^ed,  to  the  great  scandal  of  every- 
one. He  continued  ^x  months  in  pri- 
son, and  came  out  only  by  accident; 
he  went  into  his  own  island,  and  died 
of  poison,  in  1669.  Vie  continu6e  d? 
M,  de  Bourignon,  p.  290,  331, 


840  B  O  U  R  I  G  NO  N. 

•  • 

estate ;  for  which  she  alleged  two  reasons,  one,  that  her 
goods  had  already  been  dedicated  to  God  for  the  use  of 
those  who  sincerely  sought  to  become  true  Christians ;  the' 
other,  that  men  and  all  human  things  are  very  inconstant. 
On  this  principle,  she  resolved  never  to  part  with  any 
thing,  but  refer  all  donations  to  her  last  will  and  testa* 
jneot ;  and  accordingly,  when  she  had  distributed  among 
these  poor  people  certain  revenues  of  the  place  annexed 
to  this  hospital  by  the  founder,  being  asked  if  she  would 
not  contribute  something  of  her  own,  she  returned  an  an- 
swer in  writing,  that  because  these  poor  lived  like  beasts, 
who  had  no  souls  to  save,  she  had  rather  throw  her  goods, 
which  were  consecrated  to  God,  into  the  sea,  than  heave 
the  least  mite  there.  It  was  on  this  account  that  she  found 
persecutors  in  East  Friesland,.  hotwitfastanding  the  baron 
de  Latzbourg's  protection ;  so  that  she  took  her  way  to 
Holland  in  1680,  but  died  at  Franeker,  on  the  30th  of 
October  the  same  year. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  crookedness  of  her  out* 
ward  form,  which  probably  wa^  the  reason  why  she  would 
never  suffer  her  picture  to  be  taken  :  however,  her  con- 
stitution was  so  tough,  that,  in  spite  of  all  the  fatigues  and 
troubles  of  her  life,  she  seemed  to  be  but  forty  years  of 
age,  when  she  was  above  sixty:  and,  though  she  was  al- 
most continually  wearing , her  eyesight,  both  by'readiog 
and  writing,  yet  she  never  made  use  of  spectacles.  She 
was  lucky  enough  to  have  the  three  most  remarkable 
periods  of  her  life,  as  her  birth,  her  arriving  to  the  rank 
f)f  an  author,  and  her  death,  characterised  by  comets ;  a 
circumstance  greatly  favourable  to  a  prophet  and  a  teacWr 
of  a  new  religion.  Her  writings  were  volumipous,  but  it 
would  be  impossible  to  draw  from  them  an  accurate  and 
consistent  scheme  of  religion  ;  for  the  pretended  '^  Di- 
vine light,"  that  guides  people  of  this  class,  does  not  pro- 
ceed in  a  methodical  way  of  reasoning  and  argument  -,  it 
discovers  itself  by  flashes,  which  shed  nothing  but  thick 
darkness  in  the  minds  of  those  who  investigate  truth  with 
the  understanding,  and  do  hot  trust  to  the  reports  of  fancy^ 
that  is  so  often  governed  by  sense  and  passion.  Madame 
Bourignon^s  intellect  was  probably  in  a  disordered  state. 
One  of  her  principal  followers  was  Peter  Poiret,  a  man  of 
bold  and  penetrating  genius,  who  was  a  great  master  of  the 
Cartesian  philosophy,  and  who  proves  in  his  own  example, 
that  knowledge  and  ignorance^  reason  and  superstition,  are 


B  d  U  R  I  G  N  O  N.  241 

ofteh  divided  bj^  thin  partitions,  and  that  they  sometimes 
not  only  dwell  together  in  the  same  person,  but  also,  by 
an  unnatural  and.  unaccountable  union,  afford  mutual  as- 
sistance, and  thus  engender  monstrous  productions. 

Antoinette  Bourignon  had  more  disciples  in  Scotland  than 
in  any  othei'  couiltry  perhaps  of  the  world.  Not  only  lay* 
men,  but  some  of  their  ecclesiastics,  embraced  Bourig- 
Yionism  :  and  one  of  Antoinette's  principal  books  was  pub- 
lished, entitled  "  The  light  of  the  wond,"  in  English,  in 
1'69€  ;  to  which  the  translator  added  a  long  preface,  to 
prove  that  this  maid  ought  at  least' to  pass  for  an  extraor- 
dinary prophetess^  Her  tenets  at  one  time  gained  sd 
much  ground  in  Scotland,  as  to  become  an  object  of  great 
jealousy  vtrith  the  church,  and  measures  were  adopted  by 
the  Genieral  Assembly  for  checking  the  growth  of  this  blas-» 
phemous  heresy.  Dr.  George  Garden,  a  minister  of  Aber- 
deen, was  deposed  in  1701,  for  teaching  its  "damnable 
errors,"  and  all  candidates  for  orders  are  to  this  day  re- 
quired to  abjure  and  renounce  the  Bourignian  doctrine. 
Mr.  Charles  Lesley,  in  the  preface  to  the  second  edition 
of  his  "  Snake  in  the  grass,"  observed  the  errors  of  this 
sect ;  and  they  were  refuted  at  large  by  Dr.  Cockburn,  in 
a  piece  entitled^  Bourignonism  detected,  against  messieurs 
Poiret,  De  Cordt,  and  the  English  translator  of  the  "  Lux 
Mulidi,'*  who  endeavoured  to  shew  that  she  was  inspired, 
and  had  received  a  commission  from  God  to  reform  Chris- 
tianity. This  was  answered  by  the  Bourignonists  in  an 
apology  for  their  leader ;  who  has  still  a  remnant  left  in 
some  parts  of  North  Britain.  *  ' 

BOURNE  (Immanuel),  the  son  of  a  clergyman,  was. 
born  in  Northamptonshire,  Dec.  27,  1590,  and  was  edu- 
cated at  Christ  church,  Oxford,  where  he  took  his  master's 
degree  in  1616.  -  About  that  time  he  preached  under  Dr. 
Piers,  rector  of  St  Christopher's,  Threadneedle- street, 
London,  and  was  much  encouraged  in  his  studies  and  pro- 
fession by  sir  Samuel  Tryon,  knt.  and  inhabitant  of  that 
parish.  In  1622,  be  got  the  living  of  Ashover,  in  Derby- 
shire, which  he  retained  niany  years.  During  the  rebel- 
lion, he^sided  with  the  predominant  party,  duel  removed  to 
London,  where  he  became  preacher  of  St.  Sepulchre's, 
and  was  much  followed.  In  1656,  he  became  rector  of 
Waitham  in  Leicestershire,  and  having  conformed  at  tb^ 

1  Gm.  Diet. — Mosb«tiDy  &c. 

Vol.  VI.  R 


I 

[ 


242  BOURNE. 

restoration,  was  instituted  to  the  rectory  of  Ailston  in  the 
same  county.  Wood  says  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  fathers  and  schoolmen.  He  died*  Dec.  27,  1672,  and 
was  buried  in  the  chancel  of  the  church  of  Ailston.  Besides 
some  occasional  sermons,  he  published,  1.  **  A  Light  from 
Christ,  &c."  or  a  preparatory  to  the  Sacrament,  London, 
1645,  8vo.  2.  "  Defence  of  Scriptures,"  ibid.  1656,  4to. 
3.  **  Defence  and  justification  of  ministers'  maintenance 
by  tithes,  &c."  ♦against  the  Anabaptists  and  Quakers,  ibid. 
1659,  4to.  4.  "  A  Gold  Chain  of  directions  with  twenty 
Gold  Links  of  love  to  preserve  fini>  love  between  husband 
and  wife,"  ibid.  1669,    12mo.* 

BOURNE  (Vincent),   an  elegant  Latin  poet,    and  a 
tery  amiable  man,  of  whom  we  regret  that  our  memoirs 
are  so  scanty,  was  admitted  a  scholar   of  Westminster- 
schojl  in  1710,  from  whence  he  was  elected  to  the  univer- 
sity  of  Cambridge  in   1714,  where,  in  Trinity  college,  he 
took  his  degree  of  A.  B,   ni7,  and  A.M.  1721,  and  ob- 
tained a  fellowship.     He  was  afterwards  for  several  year* 
an  usher  in  Westminster-school,  and  died  of  a  lingering 
disorder  December  2,  1747.     He  married  ;  and  in  a  letter 
which  he  wrote  to  his  wife  a  few  weeks  before  his  death, 
gives  the  following  reasons  why  he  did  not  take  orders: 
"  Though  I  think  myself  in  strictness  answerable  to  none 
but  God  and  my  own  conscience,  yet,  for  the 'satisfaction 
of  the  person  that  is  dearest  to  me,  I  own  and  declare,  that 
the  importance  of  so  great  a  charge,  joined  with  a  mistrust 
of  my  own  sufficiency,  made  me  fearful  of  undertaking  it ; 
if  I  have  not  in  that  capacity  assisted  in  the  salvation  of 
souls,  I  have  not  been  the  means  of  losing  any ;  if  I  have 
not  brought  reputation  to  the  function  by  any  merit  of 
mine,  I  have  the  comfort  of  this  reflection,  I  have  given 
no  scandal  to  it,  by  my  meanness  and  unworthiness.    It 
has  been  my  sincere  desire,  though  not  my  happiness,  to 
be  as  useful  in  my  little  sphere  of  life  as  possible :  my  own 
inclinations  would  have  led  me  to  a  more  likely  way  of 
being  serviceable,  if  I  might  have  pursued  them  :  however, 
as  the  method  of  education  I  have  been  brought  up  in  was, 
I  am  satisfied,  very  kindly  intended,  I  have  nothing  to 
find  fault  with,  but  a  vnrong  choice,  and  the  not  knowing 
those  disabilities  I  have  since  heen  truly  conscious  of: 
those  difficulties  I  have  endeavoured  to  get  over  i  but  found 

1  Wood'5  Mh.  Yol.  II. 


BOURNE.  243 

them  insuperable.  It  has  been  the  knowledge  of  these  dis- 
couragements, that  has  been  the  chief  subject  of  my  sIeep-« 
ing,  as  well  as  my  waking  thoughts,  a  fear  of  reproach  and 
contempt."  While  we  admire  the  conscientious  motives 
which  induced  him  to  contemplate,  with  reverential  awe, 
the  duties  of  a  clergyman,  we  must  regret  the  concurrence 
of  events  which,  according  to  the  conclusion  of  this  letter, 
seems  to  haye  led  him  into  a  way  of  life  not  agreeable  to 
bis  inclinations.  Cowper,  however,  in  one  of  his  excellent 
letters,  throws  some  light  on  those  peculiar  habits,  which 
were  not  certainly  very  happily  adapted  to  his  situation  as 
a  public  teacher.  "  I  love,"  says  Cowper,  "  the  memory 
of  Vinny  Bourne.  I  think  him  a  better  Latin  poet  thaa 
Tibullus,  Propertius,  Ausonius,  or  any  of  the  writers  in 
his  way,  except  Ovid,  and  not  at  all  inferior  to  him.  I 
love  him  too,  with  a  love  of  partiality,  because  he  was  usher 
of  the  fifth  form  at  Westminster  when  I  passed  through  it. 
He  was  so  good-natured,  and  so  indolent,  that  I  lost  more 
than  I  got  by  him  ;  for  he  made  me  as  idle  as  himself.  He 
was  such  a  sloven,  as  if  he  had  trusted  to  his  genius  as  a 
cloak  for  every  thing  that  could  disgust  you  in  his  per- 
son ;  and  indeed  in  his  writings  he  has  almost  made  amends 
for  all.  His  humour  is  entirely  original — he  can  speak  of 
a  magpie  or  a  cat,  in  terms  so  exquisitely  appropriated  to 
the  character  he  draws,  that  one  would  suppose  him  ani- 
mated by  the  spirit  of  the  creature  he  describes.  And 
with  all  his  drollery,  there  is  a  mixture  of  rational,  and 
even  religious  reflection,  at  times,  and  always  an  air  of 
pleasantry,  good  nature,  and  humanity,  that  makes  him,  in 
my  mind,  one  of  the  most  amiable  writers  in  the  world.  It 
is  not  common  to  meet  with  an  author  who  can  make  you 
smile,  and  yet  at  nobody's  expence ;  who  is  always  enter- 
taining, and  yet  always  harmless  ;  and  who,  though  always 
elegant  and  classical,  to  a  degree- not  always  found  in  the 
classics  themselves,  charms  more  by  the  simplicity  and 
playfulness  of  his  ideas,  than  by  the  neatness  and  purity  of 
his  verse*:  yet  such  was  poor  Vinny.  I  remember  seeing 
the  duke  of  Richmond  set  fire  to  his  greasy  locks,  and  box 
his  ears  to  put  it  out  again." 

His  waitings,  thus  char9.Gte#ised,  were  published  in  1772, 
under  the  title  of  "  Mfscellan^us  Poems,  consisting  of 
originals  and  translations,"  4to,^  and  certainly  will  be  a 
lasting  testimony  of  bis«  talents.  ;'He  was,  perhaps,  at  the 
time  he  Wrote,  the  besi  Latin  j)oet  in  Europe.     Most  ef 

R  i 


244  ia  o  U  ^  N  E. 

the  pieces  in  this  volume  had  been  printed  in  his  life-time, 
if  we  mistake  not,  in  a  smaller  volume.  Dr.  Beattie,  after 
'noticing  that  Boileau  did  not  know  that  there  were  any 
good  poets  in  England,  till  Addison  made  him  a  present  of 
the  *^  Musa3  Anglicana;,"  remarks  that  "  those  foreigners 
inust  entertain  a  high  opinion  of  our  pastoral  poetry,  who 
Have  seen  the  Latin  translations  of  Vincent  Bourne,  par- 
ticularly those  of  the  ballads  of  *  Tweedside,'  '  William 
and  Margaret,'  and  Rowe's  *  Despairing  beside  a  clear 
isftream,'  of  which  it  is  no  compliment  to  say,  that  in  sweet- 
ness of  numbers,  and  elegant  expression,  they  are  at  least 
equal  to  the  originals,  and  scarce  inferior  to  any  thing  ia 
Ovid  or  tibullus."  * 

BOURSAULT  (Edmund),  a  French  dramatic  writer 
and  satirist,  was  born  in  1638,  at  Mussi-l'6veque  in  Bur- 
gundy. He  was  not  brought  up  at  school,  and  could  only 
speak  the  rude  provincial  dialect  of  his  country,  when  he 
came  to  Paris  in  1651,  yet,  .by  the  perusal  of  good  books, 
with  his  good  memory,  he  was  soon  able  to  converse  and 
to  write  elegantly  in  French.  Having  composed,  by  or- 
'  der  of  Louis  Xl V.  a  book  of  no  great  merit,  entitled  "  Of 
t^e  proper  study  of  sovereigns,"  1671,  12mo,  the  king 
was  so  well  pleased  with  it,  that  he  would  have  appointed 
ibim  sub-prefceptor  to  Monseigneur,  if  Boursault  had  been 
master  of  the  Latin  language.  The  duchess  of  Angoulerae, 
widow  of  a  natural  son  of  Charles  1X«  having  taken  him  to 
pe  her  secretary,  he  was  engaged  to  turn  every  week  the 
gazette  into  rhyme,  which  procured  him  a  pension  of  2000 
livres.  Louis  XIV.  and  his  court  were  much  entertained 
with  him ;  but,  having  employed  his  satire  against  the 
Franciscans  and  the  Capuchins,  he  was  silenced.  The 
queen^s  confessor,  a  Spanish  cordelier,  caused  both  the 

f'  azette  and  the  pension  to  be  suppressed  ;  and  would  have 
ad  him  imprisoned,  had  it  not  been  for  the  interest  exert- 
ed in  his  behalf  by  his  patrons.  He  shortly  after  obtained 
a  new  licence,  and  published  his  gazette  under  th^  title  of 
the  "  Merry  Muse ;"  but  it  was  again  suppressed.  He 
afterwards  got  into  favour  once  more,  and  was  made  re- 
ceiver of  the  excise  at  Montlugon,  where  he  died  of  a  vio- 
lent colic,  aged  63,  Sept.  5,  1701.  He  wrote  several 
theatrical  pieces,  and  other  works.     The  chief  of  them 

»  Critical  Kev.  vol.  XXXIII.— Beattie's  Essays,  p.  733.— Haylry's  Life  of 
f  owper. — Welch*!  Wcstmiuster  scholar!, — Caatabrigiensei  Gradoati. 


B  O  U  R  S  A  U  L  T.  i45 

aVe,  "jEsop  in  the  citjV'  and  <*  iEsbp  at  court;'*  which 
long  remained  to  the  stage.     These  two  pieces  and  the' 
follow-ing  are  an  agreeable  satire  on  the  ridiculous  manners 
of  the  several  ages  and  conditions  of  life.     His  verse  in 
general  is  harmonious,  but  his  style  sometimes  negligent, 
yet  in  general  easy  and  suitable  to  the  subject.     2.  The' 
"  Mercure  galante,"  or  "  La  comedie  sans  titre,"  in  which 
he  ingeniously  ridicules  the  rage  for  getting  a  place  in  the' 
Mercure  galant.     3.  "  La  satyre  des  satyres,"  in  one  act. 
Boileau's  satirical  notice  of  Boursault,  to  avenge  Molifire, 
with  whom  he  had  had  a  difference,  gave  occasion  to  this*^ 
piece,  which  Boileau  had  interest  enough  and  meanness 
enough  to  prevent  being  played.     The  satirist  being  soifie'' 
years  afterwards  at  the  baths  of  Bourbon,  Boursault,  at  that' 
tiqae  receiver  of  the  excise  at  Montlugon,  repaired  thither^ 
on  purpose  to  offer  him  his  purse  and  his  services.    At  this 
act  of  generosity  J^oileaii  was  much  affected;  ani  they 
immediately   engaged  in   a  mutual  friendship,  of  which 
Boursault  was  highly  deserving  by  the  gentleness  of  his ' 
manners,  and  the  cheerfulness  of  his  disposition.     He  be- 
haved with  less  tolerance,  however,  towarcis  his  other  cen- 
sors ;  and  was  able  s6nietimes  to  chastise  them  with'effect. 
A  cabal  having  prevented  the  success  of  the  first  repre- 
sentation of  "  iEsop  in  the  city,"  the  author  added  to  it  a 
fable  of  the  dog  and  the  ox,  applying  the  moral  of  it  to 
the  pit;  which  so  effectually  silencied'the  cabal,  that  the 
piece  had  a  run  of  forty-three  nights  without  interruption. 
Thomas  Corneille  had  a  sincere  regard  ifor  Boursault,  whom 
he'  used  to  call  his  son,  and  insisted  on  his  applying  to  be 
admitted  a  member  of  the  academy.     Boursault  desired  to 
be  excused  on  account  of  his  ignordnce,  adding  with  his 
us^al  simplicity,  "  What  would  the  acadiemy  do  with  an 
ignorant  and  illiterate  (ignare  &  non  lettr6)   member,  who 
knows  neither  Latin  nor  Greek  ?"    "  We  are  not  talkinop" 
(returned  Corneille)  of  a  Greek  or  Latin  academy,  but  of 
a  French  academy;  and  who  understands  French  better 
than   you?"     There  are   likewise  by  him,    1.  Sonie  ro- 
mances, "  The  marquis  de  Chavigny,'*  "  The  prince  de 
Cond6;"  which  afe  written  with  spirit;  "Artemisia  and 
Polyanthus ;  aild,  "  We  should  only  believe  what  we  see.'* 
2.  A  collection  of  letters  on  subjects  of  respect,  obligation, 
and  gallantry ;  known  under  the  name  of  ^^  Lettres  k  Ba- 
bet  ;**  now  forgotten.     3.  "  Lettres  nouvelles,"  with  fa- 
bles, tales,  epigrams,  remarks,  bon-mots,  &c.  3  vols.  12mo, 


246  B  O  U  R  S  A  U  L  T. 

several  times  reprinted,  though  mostly  written  in  a  loose 
and  inelegant  style  :  a  miscellany,  which  was  very  popu- 
lar when  it  first  came  out ;  but  is  much  less  at  present,  as 
the  tales  and  bon-mots  which  Boursault  has  collected,  or 
put  into  verse,  are  found  in  many  other  books.  His  fables 
liave  neither  the  simplicity ,of  those  of  La  Fontaine,  nor 
the  elegant  precision  of  Phaedrus.  There  is  an  edition  of 
the  "  Theatre  de  Boursault,"  in  3  vols.  1746,  l2mo. ' 

BOUBSIER  (Lawrence  Francis),  doctor  of  the  Sor- 
bonne,  was  born  at  Ecoven  in  the  diocese  of  Paris,  in 
1679,  and  died  at  Paris  in  1749,  at  the  age  of  70.  He 
published,  1.  "  L'action  de  Dieu  sur  les  creatures,"  Paris, 
2  vols.  4to,  or  6  vols.'  12mo.  This  treatise,  in  which  he 
endeavours  to  establish  physical  premotjon  by  argument, 
was  attacked  by  Malebranche  ;  but  it  discovers  the  powers 
of  a  profopnd  metaphysician.  2.  A  memoir  presented  to 
Peter  the  Great  by  the  doctors  of  Sorbonne  for  the  re* 
union  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  churches.  When  the  tzar 
appeared  in  the  Sorbonne,  Boursier  addressed  hiqi  on  the 
subject  of  this  memoir.  The  monarch  immediately  an- 
swered, that  he  was  but  a  soldier.  Boursier  replied,  that 
he  was  a  hero  ;  and  that,  as  a  prince,  he  was  a  protector  of 
religion. — "  This  re-union  is  not  so  easy  a  matter  (said  the 
tzar) ;  there  are  three  points  that  divide  us  :  the  pope,  the 

procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost "  As  he  had  forgot  the 

third  point,  which  is  the  unleavened  bread  and  the  cup, 
Boursier  recalled  it  to  his  mind.  "  As  for  that  article,**  re- 
turned the  emperor,  *^we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  coining 
to  an  agreement."  At  the  end  of  tjie  conversation,  the 
Russian  sovereign  asked,  for  a  memorandum  of  it :,  it  was 
given  him  ;  but  nothing  more  was  ever  heard  of  it.  3.  An 
enormous  quantity  of  publications  on  subjects  of  eccle- 
siastical controversy,  enumerated  by  Moreri.  There  was 
another  of  thp  name,  almost  a  contemporary,  Philip  Bour- 
sier, deacon  of  Paris,  where  he  was  born  in  1693,  and  died 
in  1768,  aged  77.  He  was  the  first:  author,  in  1727,  of 
the  "  Nouvelles  eccl^siastique*;"  in  which  work  he  nad 
several  coadjutors,  as  Messrs.  d'Etemare,  d^  Fernanville, 
Berger.  de  Russy6,  de  Troya,  Fontaine,  But  he  alone 
composed  the  greatest  part  of  the  discourses  that  annually 
precede  this  periodical  work. ' 

« 

*  Mortri.— Dict»  Hist.^-Gen.  Diet.— Niceron,    vol.  XIV.^Bio^.    Gallica, 
vol.  1 1.  s  Diet.  Hi8t.-:^>1  or^ri. 


B  O  U  V  A  R  T.  247 

• 

BOUVART  (Michael  Phiup),  physician  and  doctor 
regent  of  the  faculty  of  Paris,  and  associate-veteran  of  the 
academy  of  sciences,  was  born  atChartres  Jan.  11,  1717, 
Many  of  his  ancestors  having  been  physicians,  he  deter- 
mined on  the  same  profession,  which  he  practised  at  Pa- 
ris with  so  mnoh  success  that  no  physician  was  more  con* 
suited  ;  yet  this  did  not  prevent  his  being  jealous  of  Tron- 
chin,  Bordeu,  and  some  others,  of  whom  he  spoke' very 
illiberally,  but  he  was  a  man  otherwise  of  great  kindness 
and  benevolence.  One  anecdote  is  recorded  as  character- 
istic. A  banker,  who  had  experienced  some  heavy  losses, 
was  taken  ill,  and  Bouvart,  who  was  called  in,  suspected 
that  this  weighed  on  his  mind,  but  could  not  obtain  the  se- 
cret from  him.  The  banker's  wife,  however,  was  more 
communicative,  and  told  him  that  her  husband  had  a  pay- 
ment of  twenty  thousand  livres  to  make  very  shortly,  for 
which  he  was  unprovided.  Bouvart,  without  making  any 
professions  of  sorrow  or  assistance,  went  immediately  home 
and  sent  the  money  to  his  patient,  who  recovered  surpris- 
ingly. Bouvart  wrote  only  two  or  three  small  tracts  :  one  a 
critique  on  Tronchin's  book,  *Me  colica  Pictonum,"  1758, 
8vo ;  a  "  Consultation  sur  une  naissance  tardive,"  against 
the  anatomists  Petit  and  Bertin,  1765,  Svo;  and*  a  "Me- 
moire  au  sujet  de  Thonoraire  des  medicines,"  1768,  4to, 
all  written  in  a  keen,  controversial  style.  He  was  also  an 
opponent  of  inoculation  for  the  small  pox.  He  introduced 
the  use  of  the  polygalaof  Virginia  in  cases  of  the  bite  of  ve- 
nomous reptiles,  and  this  was  the  subject  of  the  only  paper 
he  contributed  to  the  academy ;  but  the  remedy,  although 
said  to  be  successful  in  his  hands,  fell  into  disrepute.  He 
died  Jan.  19,   1787.* 

BOWER  (Archibald),  a  person  of  a  very  celebrated, 
but  dubious  character,  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  born  on 
the  17th  of  January  1686  at  or  near  Dundee,  of  an  ancient 
family,  by  his  own  account,  which  had  been  for  several 
hundred  years  possessed  of  an  estate  in  the  county  of  An- 
gus in  Scotland.  In  September  1702,  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen, he  was  sent  to  the  Scots  college  of  Douay,  where  he 
studied  until  the  year  1706,  to  the  end  of  his  first  year  of 
philosophy.  From  thence  he  was  removed  to  Rome,  and 
on  the  9th  day  of  December  1706,  was  admitted  into  the 
^rder  of  Jesus.     After  a  noviciate  of  two  years,  he  went^ 

y  Diet.  Hist.— Eloi^ei  cl«8  Academiciens^  toI.  IV. 


24S  BOWER- 

in  the  year  17.12,  to  Fano,  \ybpre  he  tapght  huq9anitie9 
during  the  space  of  two  years.     He  then  removed  tp.Fer- 
rnp,  and  resided  there  three  years,  until,  the  year   1717> 
when  he  was  recalled  to  Rome  to  study  divinity  in  the  Ro- 
man college.     There   he  remained  until  tfie  year,  1721, 
when  he  was  sent  to  the  college  of  Arezzo,  where  he  staid- 
until  the  year  1723,  and  became  reader  of  philosophy,  and 
consultor  to  the  rector  of  the  college.     He  then  was  sent 
to  Florence,  where  he  remained  but  a  short  titae,  being  iu 
the  same  year  removed  to  Macerata,  at  which  place  he  con* 
tinned  until  the  year  1726.     Between  the  two  latter  periods 
it  seems  probable  that  he  made  his  last  vows,  his  own  ac^ 
count  fixing  that  event  in  the  month  of .  March  1722,  at 
Florence  ;  though,  as  he  certainly  was  th^t  year  sit  Arezzo^ 
it  is  most  likely  to  have  been.a  yeiir  later. 

Having  thus  been  confirmed  in  the  ordex  of  tbei  Jesuits, 
and  arrived  at  the  age  of  almost  forty  yeajs,  it  was?  rpason^ 
able  to  suppose  that  Mr.  Bower  would  have  passed  tbrpugl^ 
life  with  no  other  changes  than  such  as  are  usual  vyith  pe^*- 
sons  of  the  same  order;  but  this  uniformity. of,  life  was  ndt 
destined  to  be  his  lot.     To  whatever  cause  it  is  to  be  as-r 
cribed — whether,  according  to  his  own,  account,  to  his  dis- 
gust at  the  enormities  committed  by  the  inquisitiop,  in 
whigh  he  perfprmed  the  office  of -counsel  lor.;  or,  as  his  ene? 
inies  assert,  to  his  indulgence  of  his  passions,  particuiarly 
with  a  nun  to  whom  he  was  ghostly  father  ;  certain  it  is, 
that  in  the  year  1 726  he  was  removed  ftom  Macerata  to  Pe-r 
rugia,  and  from  thence  made  his  escape,  into  Eiigland,  where 
he  arrived  at  the  latter  end  of  June  or  July,  after  various 
adventures,  which  it  now  becomes  our  duty  to  communicate 
to  the  reader,  and  which  we  shall  do  in  his  own  words  j 
premising,  however,  that  the  truth  of  the  narrative,  has 
been  impeached  in  several  very  material  circumstances. 
Having  determined  to  put  into  execution  his  design^  of 
quitting  the    inquisition    and  bidding  for  ever  adieu  to 
Italy,  he  proceeds  :  "  To  execute  that  design  with  some 
safety,  I  purposed  to  beg  leave  of  the  inquisitor  to  visit  the 
Virgin  of  Loretto,  but  thirteen  miles  distant,  and  to,  pass 
a  week  there ;  but  in  the  mean  time  to  make  the  best  of 
my  way  to.  the  country  of  the  Grisons,  the  nearest  country 
to  Macerata,  out  of  the  reach  of  the  inquisition.     Having 
therefoi'e,  after  many  conflicts  with  myself,  asked  leave  to 
visit  the  neighbouring  sanctuary,  and  obtained  it,  I  set  out 
on  horseback  the  very  next  morning,  leaving,  as  I  purposed 
to  keep  the  horse,  his  full  value  with  the  owner,    I  topk 


BOWER.  249 

jthe  road  to  Loretto^  but  turaed  out  of  it  at  a  small  distance 
f^oin  RecaDati,  after  a  most  violent  struggle  with  myself^ 
the  attempt  appearing  to  uie,  at  that  juncture,  quite  de- 
sperate and  iaipracticable ;  and  the  dreadful  doom  reserved 
for  me,  should  I  miscarry,  presenting  itself  to  my  mind  in 
the  strongest  light.     But  the  reflectiun  that  I  had  it  in  my 
power  to  avoid  being  taken  alive,  and  a  persuasion  that  a 
,man  in  my  situation  might  lawfully  avoid  it,  when  every 
pther  means  failed  him,  at  the  expence  of  his  life,  revived. 
my  staggered  resolution ;  and  all  my  fears  ceasing  at  once, 
I  steered  my  course,  leaving  Loretto  behind  me,  to  Calvi 
iq  the  dukedom  of  Urbino,  and  from  thence  through  the 
Romagna  into  the  Bolonese,  keeping  the  by-roads,  and  at 
a  good*  distance  fron^  the  cities  of  Fano,  Pisaro,  Rimini,. 
Forli,  F^enza,  and   Imola,  through  which   the  high  road 
passed*     Tiius  I  advanced  very  slowly,  travelling,  generally^ 
speaking,  in  very  bad  roads,  and  often  in  places  where 
jthere  was  no  road  at  all,  to  avoid  not  only  the  cities  and 
towns,  but  even  the  villages.     In  the  mean  time  I  seldom 
h^d  any  other  support  than  some  coarse  provisions,  and  a 
very  small  quantity  even  of  them,  that  the  poor  shepherds, 
tbe  countrymen,  or^  wood -cleavers,  I  met  in  those  unfre- 
quented by-places,  could*  spare  me.     My  horse  fared  not 
much  better  than  myself;  but  in  choosing  my  sleeping* 
place  I  consulted  bis  convenience  as  much  as  my  own ; 
passing  the  night  where  I  found  most  shelter  for  myself, 
and  most  grass  for  him.     In  Italy  there  are  very  few  soli- 
tary farm-houses  or  cottages^  the  country  people  there  all 
living  together  in  villages ;  and  I  thought  it  far  safer  to  lie 
where  I  could  be  any  way  sheltered,  than  to  venture  into 
any  of  them.     Thus  I  spent  seventeen  days  before  I  got  out 
of. the  Ecclesiastical  State;  and  I  very  narrowly  escaped 
being  taken  or  murdered  on  the  very  borders  of  that  statet 
It  happened  thus : 

^*  I  bad  passed  two  whole  days  without  any  kind  of  sub- 
nistence-  whatever,  meeting  nobody  in  the  by-roads  that 
would  supply  me  with  any,  and  fearing  to  come  near  any 
bouse,  as  I  was  not  far  from  the  borders  of  the  dominions  > 
of  tbe  pope — I  thought  I  should  be  able  to  hold  out  till  I 
got  into  the  Modenese^  where  I  believed  I  should  be  in  less  * 
danger  than  while  1  remained  in  the  papal  dominions ;  but ' 
finding  myself  about  noon  of  the  third  day  extremely  weak» 
and  ready  to  faint,  I  came  into  the  high  road  that  leads 
fcom  Bologna  to  Florence^  at  a  few  miles  distance  from  the 


250  •  BOWER. 

former  city,  and  alighted  at  a  post  house  that  stood  qnite 
by  itself.  Having  asked  the  woman  of  the  house  whether  she 
bad  any  victuals  ready,  and  being  told  that  she  had,  I  went 
to  open  the  door  of  the  only  room  in  the  house  (that  being  a 
place  where  gentlemen  only  stop  to  change  horses),  and 
saw,  to  my  great  surprise,  a  placard  pasted  on  it  with  a 
most  minute  description  of  my  whole  person,  and  the  pro- 
mise of  a  reward  of  800  crowns,  about  200/.  English  money, 
for  delivering  me  up  alive  to  the  inquisition,  being  a  fugi- 
tive from  the  holy  tribunal,  and  600  crowns  for  my  head. 
By  the  same  placard  all  persons  were  forbidden,  on  the  pain 
of  the  greater  excommunication,  to  receive,'  harbour,  or  en- 
tertain me,  to  conceal  or  to  screen  me,  or  to  be  any  way 
aiding  and  assisting  to  me  in  makingmy  escape.  This  greatly 
alarmed  me,  as  the  reader  may  well  imagine ;  but  I  was 
still  more  affrighted  when  entering  the  room  I  saw  two  fel- 
lows drinking  there,  who,  fixing  their  eyes  upon  me  as 
soon  as  I  came,  continued  looking  at  me  very  steadfastly.  I 
strove,  by  wiping  my  face,  by  blowing  my  nose,  by  look- 
ing out  at  the  window,  to  prevent  their  having  a  full  view 
of  me.     But  one  of  them  saying,  *  The  gentleman  seems 
afraid  to  be  seen,'  I  put  up  my  handkerchief,  and  turning 
to  the  fellow  said  boldly,  *  What  do  you  mean,  you  rascal  ? 
Look  at  me ;  I  am  not  afraid  to  be  seen.'     He  said  nothing, 
but,  looking  again  steadfastly  at  me,  and  nodding  his  head, 
went  out,  and  his  companion  immediately  followed  him.     I 
watched  them ;  and  seeing  them  with  two  or  three  more  in  close 
conference^  and,  no  doubt,  consulting  whether  they  should 
apprehend  me  or  not,  I  walked  that  moment  into  the  stable, 
mounted  my  horse  unobserved  by  them,  and,  while  tBey 
were  deliberating  in  an  orchard  behind  the  house,  rode  off 
full  speed,  and  in  a  few  hours  got  into  the  Modenese,  tvhere 
I  refreshed  both  with  food  and  with  rest,  as  I  was  there  in 
no  immediate  danger,  my  horse  and  myself.     I  was  indeed 
surprised  to  find  that  those  fellows  did  not  pursue  me ;  nor 
can  I  any  other  way  account  for  it  but  by  supposing,  what  is 
not  improbable,  that  as  they  were  strangers  as  well  as  my- 
self, and  had  all  the  appearance  of  banditti  or  rufEans  flying 
out  of  the  dominions  of  the  pope,  the  woman  of  the  h6use 
did  not  care  to  trust  them  with  her  horses.     From  the  Mo- 
denese  I  continued  my  journey  more  leisurely  through  the 
Parmesan,  the  Milanese,  and  part  of  the  Venetian  territory, 
to  Chiavenna,  subject,  with  its  district,  to  the  Grisons,  who 
abhor  the  very  nan^e  of  the  inquisition,  and  are  ever  ready  to 


BOWER.  251 

receive  and  protect  all  who,  flying  frodi  it,  take  refuge,  as 
majiy  {talians  do,  in  their  dominions.  However,  as  I  proposed 
getting  as  soon  as  I  could  to  the  city  of  Bern,  the  metropo- 
lis of  that  great  protestant  canton,  and  was  informed  that  my 
best  way  was  through  the  cantons  of  Uiy  and  Underwald, 
and  part  of  the  canton  of  Lucern,  all  three  popish  cantons^ 
I  carefully  concealed  who  I  was  and  from  whence  I  came. 
For  though  no  inquisition  prevails  among  the  Swiss,  yet  the 
pope's  nuncio,  who  resides  at  Lucern,  might  have  per- 
suaded the  magistrates  of  those  popish  cantons  to  stop  me 
as  an  apostate  and  deserter  from  the  order. 

*^  Having  rested  a  l^w  days  at  Chiavenna,  I  resumed  my 
journey  quite  refreshed,  continuing  it  through  the  country 
of  the  Grisons,  and  the  two  small  cantons  of  Ury  and  Un- 
derwald to  the  canton  of  Lucern.  There  I  missed  my  way, 
as  I  was  quite  unacquainted  with  the  country,  and  discover- 
ing a  city  at  a  distance,  was  advancing  to  it,  but  yery 
slowly,  as  I  knew  not  where  I  was ;  when  a  countryman 
whom  I  met  informed  me  that  the  city  before  me  was  Lu- 
cern.. Upon  that  intelligence  I  turned  out  of  the  road  as 
soon  as  the  countryman  was  out  of  sight ;  and  that  night 
I  passed  with  a  good-natured  shepherd  in  his  cottage,  who 
supplied  me  with  sheep's  milk,  and  my  horse  with  plenty  of 
grass.  I  set  out  very  early  next  morning,  making  the  best 
of  my  way  westward,  as  I  knew  that  Bern  lay  west  of  Lu- 
cern. But  after  a  few  miles  the  country  proved  very  moun- 
tainous; and  having  travelled  the  whole  day  over  moun- 
tains, I  was  overtaken  amongst  them  by  night.  As  I  was 
looking  out  for  a  place  where  I  might  shelter  myself  during 
the  night  against  the  snow  and  rain,  for  it  both  snowed  and 
rained,.  I  perceived  a  light  at  a  distance ;  and,  making  to- 
wards it,  got  into  a  kind  of  footpath,  but  so  narrow  and 
rugged  that  I  was  obliged  to  lead  my  horse  and  feel  my  way 
with  one  foot,  having  no  light  tp  direct  me,  before  I  durst 
move  the  other.  Tbu$  with  much  difficulty  I  reached  the 
place  where  the  light  was,  a  poor  little  cottage  ;  and, 
knocking  at  the  door,  was  askiEid  by  a  man  within  who  I 
was,  and  what  I  wanted.  I  answered  that  I  was  a  stranger, 
and  had  lost  my  way.  ^  Lost  your  way  !'  replied  the  man ; 
*  there  is  no  way  here  to  lose.'  I  then  asked  him  in  what 
canton  I  was ;  and  upon  his  answering  that  I  was  in  the 
canton  of  Bern,  *  I  thank  God,'  I  cried  out,  transported 
with  joy^  *  that  1  am.'  The  good  man  answered,  *  And  so 
do  V     I  thea  told  him  who  I  was,  and  that  I  was  going  to 


252  BOWER. 

Bern,butbad  quite  lost  myself  by  keeping  out  of  all  the  high^ 
roads  to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands  of  those  who  sought  my 
destruction.     He  thereupon  opened  the  door,  received  and' 
entertained  ifle  with  all  the  hospitality  his  poverty  would' 
admit  ot^  regtaled  me  with  sour-kYdut  and  some  new-laid 
eggs,  the  only  provisions  he  had,  and  clean  straw  with  a^ 
kind  of  rug  for  my  bed,  he  having  no  other  for  himself  and 
bis  wife.     The  good  woman  expressed  as  much  satisfaction' 
and  good-nature  in  her  countenance  as  her  husband^  and^ 
said  many  kind  things  in  the  Swiss  language,  which  her' 
husband  interpreted  for  me  in  the  Italian  ;  for  that  language 
hie  well  understood,  and  spoke  so  as  to  be  understood,  hav- 
ing learnt  it  as  he  told  me  in  his  youth  while  servant  in  a 
public-house  on  the  borders  of  Italy,  where  both  languages 
are  spoken.     I  never  passed  a  more  comfortable  night;  and' 
.  no  sooner  did  I  begin  to  stir' in  the  morning,  than  the  good 
man  and  his  wife  came  both  to  know  how  I  rested,  and 
wishing  they  had  been  able  to  accommodate  me  better, 
obliged  me  to  breakfast  on  two  eggs,  which  Providence, 
they   said,  had  supplied   the'm    with  f6r  that  purpose:     I' 
then  took  leave  of  the  wife,  who,  With  her  eyes  lifted  up  to 
heaven,  seemed  most  sincerely  to  wish  me'  a'  good  j6urney. 
As  for  the  husband,  he  would  by  all  means  attend  me  to 
the  high  road  leading  to  Bern;  which  road,  hesaid,  was  but 
two  miles  distant  from  that  place.     But  he  insisted  on  my 
first  going  back  with  him*  to  see  the  way  I  had  come  the 
night  before,  the  only  way,  he  said,  I  cbuld  have  possibly 
come  from  the  neighbouring  canton  of  Lucern.     I  saw  it, 
and  shuddered  at  the  danger  1  •  had  escaped ;  for  Ifound 
that  I  bad  walked  and  led  my  horse'  a  good  way  along  a 
very  narrow  path  on  the  brink  of  a  dreadnil  precipice.   The 
man  made  so  many  pious  and  pertinent  retoaAs  on  the  oc- 
casion, as  both  charmed  and  surprised  nie.     I  no  le^s  ad- 
mired his  disinterestedness  than  his  piety :  for,  upon  our ' 
parting,  after  he  had  attended  m&  till  I  was  out  of  all  dan- 
ger of  losing  my  way,  I  could  by  no  meaiis  prevail  upoti ' 
him'  to  accept  of  any  reward  for  his  trouble.     He  had  the  sa- 
tisfaction, he  said,  of  having  relieved  me  in  the' greatest 
distress,  which  was  in  itself  a  sufficient  reward,  and  he  cared 
for  no  other. 

**  I  reached  Bern  that  night,  and  purposed  istaying  some 
time^here ;  but  being  inforriied  by  the  priricipar minister  of 
the  place,  to  whom  I  discovered  myself,  that  boats  went 
frequently  down  the  Rhine  at  that  time  of  th^  year  wfCk'* 


BOWER.  255 

foods  and  passengers  from  Basil  to  Holland,  and  advised 
y  him  to  avail  myself  of  that  opportunity,  1  set  out  accord- 
ingly the  next  day,  and  crossing  the  popish  canton  of  So- 
leurre  in  the  night,  but  very  carefully  avoiding  the  town  of 
that  name,  I  got  early  the  next  morning  to  Basil.  There  I 
met  with  a  most  friendly  reception  from  one  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  place,  having  been  warmly  recommended  to  him 
by  a  letter  I  brought  with  me  from  his  brother  at  Bern* 
As  a  boat  was  to  sail  in  two  days,  he  entertained  me  very 
elegantly  during  that  time  at  his  house ;  and  I  embarked 
the  third  day,  leaving  my  horse  to  my  host  in  return  for 
his  kindness. 

*^  The  company  in  the  boat  consisted  of  a  few  traders,  of 
a  great  many  vagabonds,  the  very  refuse  of  the  neighbouring 
nations^  and  some  (Criminals  flying  from  justice.  But  I  was 
uot  long  with  them  ;  for  the  boat  striking  against  a  rock 
not  far  from  Strasburgb,  I  resolved  not  to  wait  till  it  was  re- 
fitted (as  it  was  not  my  design  to  go  to  Holland),  but  to , 
pursue  my  journey  partly  in  the  common  diligence  or  stage 
coach,  and  partly  on  post-horses,  through  France  into 
Flanders. 

*^  And  here  I  must  inform  the  .reader,  that^ •though  the 
cruelties  of  the  inquisition  had  inspired  me  with  great  hor- 
ror at  their  being  encouraged  under  the  name  of  religion, 
and  I  had  thereupon  begun  to  entertain  many  doubts  con- 
cerning other  doctrines  that  I  had  till  that  time  implicitly 
swallowed,  as  most  Italian  catholics  do,  without  examina- 
tioii ;  nevertheless,  as  I  had  not  thoroughly  examined  them, 
nor  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  them,  being  employed 
in  studies  of  a  quite  difte rent  nature,  I  was  not  yet  deter- 
mined to  quit  either  that  church  or  the  order.  Having 
therefore  got  safe  into  French  Flanders,  I  there  repaired  to 
the  college  of  the  Scotch  Jesuits  at  Douay ;  and  discover- 
ing mysplf  to  the  rector,  I  acquainted  him  with  the  cause 
of  my  sudden  departure  from  Italy,  and  begged  him  to 
give  immediate  notice  of  my  arrival,  as  well  as  the  motives 
of  my  flight,  to  Michael  Angelo  Tamburini,  general  of  the 
order,  and  my  very  particular  friend.  My  repairing  thus 
to  a  college  of  Jesuits,  and  putting  myself  in  their  power, 
is  a  plain  proof,  as  may  be  observed  here  by  the  way,  that 
it  was  not  because  I  was  guilty  of  any  crime,  or  to  avoid  the 
punishment  due  to  any  crime,  that  I  had  fled  from  Italy; 
for,  had  that  been  the  case,  no  man  can  think  that  instead 
uf  rejpairing  to  Holland  or  England,  as  I  might  have  easily 


254  B  O  W  fe  It. 

done,  arid  bid  the  whole  order  defiance,  I  would  have  tbits 
delivered  myself  up  to  them,  and  put  it  in  their  power  to 
indict  on  me  what  punishment  soever  they  pleased.  - 

"The  rector  wrote,  as  I  had  desired  him,  to  the  general ; 
and  the  general,  taking  no  notice  of  my  flight  in  his  an^* 
swer  (for  he  could  not  disapprove  it,  and  did  ndt  think  it 
»afe  to  approve  it),  ordered  me  to  continue  where  I  was 
till  further  orders.     I  arrived  at  Douay,.  early  in  May,  and 
continued  there  till  the  latter  end  of  June  or  the  beginning 
of  July,  when  the  rector  received  d  second  letter  from  the 
general,  acquainting  him,  that  he  had   beeri  commanded 
by  the  congregation  of  the  inquisition  to  order  liie,  wherevet 
I  was,  back   to  Italy  ;  to  promise  me  in  their  fiame  full 
pardon  and  forgiveness,  if  I  obeyed  ;  but  if  1  did  not  obey, 
to  treat  me  as  an  apostate.     He  added,  that  tlie  same  order 
had  been  transmitted  soon  after  my  flight  to  the  nuncios 
at  the  different  Roman  catholic  courts ;  and  he  therefore 
advised  me  to  consult  my  own  safety  without  farther  delay. 
"  It  is  to  be  observed  here,  that  it  is  deemed  apostacy 
in  a  person  of  any  religious  order  to  quit  his  habit,  and 
withdraw,  without  the  knowledge  of  his  superiors,  from 
the  college,  convent,   or  monastery,  in  which  they  have 
placed  him ;  and  that  all  bishops  are  not  only  impowefed, 
"but  bound  to  apprehend  such  an  apostate  within  the  limits 
of  their  respective  jurisdictions,  and  deliver  him  Up  to  his 
superiors  to  be  punished  by  them.     As  1  had  quitted  the 
habit,  and  withdrawn  from  the  college  of  Macerata,  with- 
out leave  from  n)y  superiors  who  had  placed  me  there,  I 
should  have  been  treated  as  an  apostate,  had   I  been   dis- 
covered in  my  flight  in  a  Roman  catholic  country,  even 
where  no  inquisition  prevailed.     But  my  returning  volun- 
tarily, and  resuming  the  habit,  cleared  me  from  the  guilt 
of  apostacy  at  the  generals  tribunal,  nay,  and  at  that  of 
the  inquisition  itself.     However,  the  congregatipn   of  the 
inquisition  had  it  still  in  their  power  to  obhge  the  general 
to  recal  me  to  Italy,  and  to  treat  ine  as  an  apostate  if  I 
did  not  obey ;  disobedience  to  an  express  command  of  a 
lawful  superior  being  deemed  apostacy,  and  punished  as 
such  with  close  confinement,  and  with  bread  and  water  for 
food  till  the  order  is  complied  with.     That  order  the  gene- 
ral received ;  but  his  friendship  for  me,  of  which  he  had 
given  me  some  remarkable  instances,  and  his  being  fully 
convinced  of  my  indocence,  the  inquisitor  himself  having 
nothing  to  lay  to  my  charge  but  my  flight,  prompted  huu 


^ 


B  O  W  E  R.  255 

to  warn  me  of  the  danger  that  threatened  me.  Indeed  I 
thought  myself  quite  safe  in  the  dominions  of  France;  and 
should  accordingly  hav^  lived  there  unmolested  by  the  in- 
quisition,  what  crime  soever  I  had  been  guilty  of  cogniz- 
able by  that  tribunal  alone ;  but  as  I  had  belonged  to  it, 
and  was  consequently  privy  to  their  hellish  proceedings, 
they  were  apprehensive  I  should  discover  them  to  the 
world,;  and  it  was  to  prevent  me  from  ever  discovering 
them,  that  they  obliged  the  general  to  order  me  back  to 
Italy,  and  promise  me,  in  their  name,  a  free  pardon  if  I 
complied,  but  to  confine  me  for  life  if  I  did  not  comply 
with  the  order. 

**  Upon  the  receipt  of  the  general's  kind  letter,  the  rec- 
tor was  of  opinion,  that  I  should  repair  by  all  means,  and 
without  loss  of  time,  to  England^  not  only  as  the  safest 
asylum  I  could  fly  to  in  my  present  situation,  but  as  a 
place  where  I  should  soon  recover  my  native  language, 
and  be  usefully  employed,  as  soon  as  I  recovered  it,  either 
there  or  in  Scotland.     I  readily  closed  with  the  rector's 
opinion,  being  very  uneasy  in  my  mind,  as  my  old  doubts 
in   point  of  religion  daily  gained  ground,  and  new  ones 
arose  upon  my  reading,  which  was^my  only  employment, 
the  books  of  controversy  I  found  in  the  library  of  the  col- 
lege.    The  place  being  thus  agreed  on,  and  it  being  at 
the  same  time  settled  between  the  rector  and  me  that  I 
should  set  out  the  very  next  morning,  I  solemnly  pro- 
mised, at  his  request  and  desire,  to  take  no  notice,  after 
my  arrival  in  England,  of  his  having  been  any  ways  privy 
to  my  flight,  or  of  the  general's  letter  to  him.     This  pro- 
mise I  have  faithfully  and^  honourably  observed ;  and   I 
should  have  thought  myself  guilty  of  the  blackest  ingrati- 
tude if  I  had  not  observed  it,  being  sensible  that,  had  it 
I^een  known  at  Rome  that  either  the  rector  or  general  had 
been  .accessary  to  my  flight,  the  inquisition  would  have  re- 
sented it  severely  on  both.     For  thou t>h  a  Jesuit  in  France 
or  in  Germany  is  out  of  the  reach  of  the  inquisition,  the 
general  is  not ;  and  the  high  tribunal  not  only  have  it  in 
their  power  to  punish  the  general  himself,  who  resides 
constantly  at  Rome,    but  may  oblige  him  to  inflict  what 
punishment  they  please  on  any  of  the  order  ^ obnoxious  to 
them. 

**  The  rector  went  that  very  night  out  of  town  ;  and  in 
his  absence,  but  not  without  his  privity,  I  took  one  of  the 
horses  of  jthe  college  early  next  morning,  as  if  I  were 


2  5€  BOWER. 

* 

going  for  change  of  Bjr,  being  somewbat  indisposed,  id 
pass  a  few  days  at  LisIeJ  But^steering  a  different  course, 
I  reached  Aire  that  night,  and  Calais  the  next^lay.  I  was* 
there  in  no  danger  of  being  stopped  and  seized  at  the  pro- 
secution of  the  inquisition,  a  tribunal  no  less  abhorred  in 
France  than  in  England.  But  being  informed  by  the  gene- 
ral, that  the  nuncios  at  the  different  courts  had  been  or- 
dered, soon  after  my  flight,  to  cause  me  to  be  apprehended 
in  the  Roman  catlKtlic  countries  through  which  I  might 
pass,  as  an  apostate  or  deserter  from  the  order,  I  was 
iiuder  no  small  apprehension  of  being  discorelred  and  ap-» 
prehended  as  such  even  at  Calais.  No  sooner,  therefore, 
did  I  alight  at  the  inn,  than  I  went  down  to  the  quay ;  tind 
there,  as  I  was  very  little  acquainted  with  the  sea,  and 
thought  the  passage  much  shorter  than  it  is,  I  endeavoured 
to^ engage  some  fisliermen  to  carry  me  that  very  night  in 
one  of  their  small  vessels  over  to  England.  Thi:$  alarmed 
the  guards  of  the  harbour;  and  I  shoAild  certainly  have 
been  apprehended,  as  guilty  or  suspected  of  some  great 
crime,  flying  from  justice,  had  not  lord  Baltimore,  whom 
I  had  the  good  luck  to  meet  at  the  inn,  informed  of  my 
danger,  and  pitying  my  condition,  attended  me  that  mo- 
ment with  all  his  company  to  the  port,  and  conveyed  me 
immediately  on  board  his  yacht.  There  I  lay  that  night, 
leaving  every  thing  I  had  but  the  clothes  on  my  back  in 
the  inn ;  and  the  next  day  his  lordship  set  me  on  shore  at 
Dover,  from  whence  I  came  in  the'common  stage  to  Lon- 
don." 

This  is  the  narrative  which,  after  thirty  years,  Mr* 
Bower  gave  the  public  as  a  genuine  account.  Whether 
owing  to  the  inaccuracy  of  those  who  had  formerly  heard 
it,  to  the  variations  to  which  a  tale  frequently  repeated  is 
always  liable,  or  to  the  neglect  of  veracity. in  the  writer,  it 
certainly  differed  from  accounts  which  had  been  orally 
given  by  him  too  much  not  to  furnish  some  suspicion^  of 
the  author.  On  his  arrival  in  England  it  appears  to  have 
been  his  6rst  object  to  procure  an  introduction  to  some 
persons  of  respectability  in  the  country  destined  for  his 
future  residence.  He  had  heard  of  Dr.  Aspinwall  soon 
after  bis  arrival ;  and  that  divine  having  formerly  belonged 
to  the  ord^r  of  Jesuits,  he  waited  on  him,  and  was  kindly 
received.  By  this  gentleman  he  was  introduced  to  Dr. 
Clarke ;  and  to  them  both  he  opened,  as  he  says,  his 
ipind,  without  disguise,  respecting  his  doubts  relative^  ta 


BOWER.  "  «A7 

hi$  fja|th.  After  several  conferences  with  these  gentlenpen, 
and  some  with  Berkeley,  the  bishop  of  Cloyne,  then  dean 
of  Londoiiderry,  added  to  \w  own  reading  an^  reasoning, 
he  obtained,  as  he  says,  the  fullest  conviction  that  many 
'  of  the  favourite  doctrines  of  Rome  were  not  only  evidently 
repugnant  to  scripture  and  reason,  but  wicked,  blasphe- 
mous, and  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  attributes  of  thp' 
supreme  and  infinite  being*  He  therefore  withdrew  him- 
self from  the  communion  of  the  church  without  further  de« 
lay,  took  leave  of  the  provincial,  quitted  the  order,  and 
broke  off  all  connection  with  those  of  the  communiou. 
This  happened  in  the  month  of  November,  1726. 

'He  did  not,  however,  become  immediately  a  member 
of  any  other  church.  ^*  I  declined,"  says  he,  "  conform- 
ing to  any  particular  church ;  but,  suspecting  all  alike, 
after  I  had  been  so  long  and  so  grossly  imposed  upon,  I 
foriped  a  system  of  religion  to  myself,  and  continued  a  prO'- 
te&tant  for  the  space^  I  think,  of  six  years,  but  a  protestant 
of  no  particular  denoqiination:  At  last  I  conformed  to  the 
church  of  England,  as  free  in  her  service  as  any  r^form^d 
church  from  the  idolatrous  practices  and  superstitions  of 
popery,  and  less  inclined  than  many  others  to  fanaticisgi 
and  enthusiasm." 

By  Dr.  Aspinwall's  means  he  was  introduced  to  all  that 
gentleman's  friends  and  acquaintance ;  and  among  others 
to  Dr.  Goodman  (physician  to  king  George  the  first),  who 
procured  hiip  to  be  recommended  to  lord  Aylmer,  who 
wanted  a  person  to  assist  him  in  reading  the  classics.  With 
this  nobleipan  he  continued  several  years  on  teems  of  the 
greatest  intimacy  ;  and  was  by  him  made  known  to  all  his 
lordship^s  cp,nnectionS|  and  particularly  to. the  family  of 
lord  Lyttelton,  who  afterwards  became  his  warm,  steady^ 
and  to  the  last,  when  deserted  by  almost  every  other  per- 
son, his  unalterable  friend. 

During  the  time  he  lived  with  lord  Aylmer,  he  under- 
took, for  Mr.  Prevost,  a  bookseller,  the  "  Historia  Lite- 
;raria,''  a  monthly  publication  in  the  nature  of  a  review, 
the  first  number  of  which  was  published  in  the  year  1730. 
He  wrote  the  preface  to  that  work,  and  several  of  the  ar- 
ticles, in  Italian ;  not  being,  as  he  asserts,  yet  sufficiently 
acquainted  with  the  English  to  write  in  that  language  .^^ 

*  The  preface  wai  translated  by  Mr.     ley,  who  kept  afterwards  a  boardini^* 
.WVman,  aod  the  rest  by  Mr*  Bark-     school  at  Liule  Chelsea. 

Vot.VIi  s 


«58  BOWER. 

In  the  mean  time  he  closely  applied  to  the  study  of  th6 
EngKsh  tongue,  and  after  six  months  began  to  think  diat 
he  had  no  further  occasion  for  a  translator^  and  he  em- 
ployed him  no  more. 

While  he  was  yet  engaged  in  writing  the  Historia  Lite- 
raria,  the  proprietors  of  the  "  Universal  History"  would 
have  engaged  him  in  that  undertaking.  But  though  some 
advantageous  offers  were  made  him,  he  declined  them, 
until  the  Historia  Literaria  was  relinquished  in  1734.  In 
the  next  year  he  agreed  with  the  proprietors  of  the  **  Uni- 
versal History,"  and  was  employed  by  them  to  1744,  being 
the  space  of  nine  years  *. 

"JVhile  he  was  engaged  in  the  **  Universal  History,"  he 
undertook,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Charlton,  of  Apley  castled, 
in  Shropshire,  the  education  of  young  Mr.  Thompson,  son 
iof  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Cooley,  in  Berkshire :  but  the  bad 
state  of  his  health  at  that  time  did  not  allow  him  to  coo" 
tinue  more  than  a  twelvemonth  in  that  family  ;  and  upon 
his  recovery,  lord  Aylmer  engaged  him  to  educate  two  of 
his  children,  one  of  whom  afterwards  became  a  captain  in 
colonel  tree's  regiment,  and  the  other  a  prebendary  of 
Bristol. 

By  the  emolaments  arising  from  his  tuition  and  his  writ- 
ings,  it  appears  that  in  the  year  1740  he  had  saved  the  sum 
of  1100/.  in  the  Old  South  Sea  annuities,  with  which  be 
bad  resolved  to  purchase  a  life-annuity.  In  the  disposition 
of  this  money  he  was  engaged  in  a  negociatiou  for  the  loan 
of  it,  which  afterwards  proved  fatal  to  his  character.  We 
shall  again  have  recourse  to  Mr.  Bower*s  own  accotrnt. 
Having  determined  to  purchase  this  annuity,  he  proceeds 
in  this  manner :  **  This  resolution  I  imparted  to  several  of 

*  The  part  which  he  wrote  of  this  find  most  reigpis  contained  in  as  maof 

work  was  the  Roman  history ;  in  the  short  paragraphs  as  they  would  have 

execution  of  which  he  is  charged  by  his  required  sheets ;  which  is  so  much  the 

fellow-labourer,  George  Psalmanazar,  greater  loss  to  the  public,  inasmuch 

with  the  blame  of  some  material  parts  as  the  Reman  history,  being  so  veil 

of  the  work,  and  particularly  of  the  By-  known,  and  written  bjr  so  many  bands, 

zantine  history,  being  curtailed.   "  The  was  the  fittest  to  have  been  epitomized  { 

truth  is,"  says  that  author,  '*  that  the  whereas  the  Byzantine,  though  equally 

author  of  the  Roman  history  having  curious  and  instructive,    is    so   littk 

wire-drawn  it  to  above  three  times  the  known,  that  it  ought  to  have  been  writ* 

length  it  was  to  have  been,  there  was  ten  in  a  more  copious  manner,  espe* 

•n  absolute  necessity  of  curtailing  that  cially  as  it  abounds  with  the  most  ia- 

of  the  Constantinopolitan  emperors,  to  teresting  incidents  to  the  church  a^weA 

prevent  the  work  swelling  into  an  enor-  as  the  state :  so  that  the  author  hath 

mons  bulk;  and  he  himself  hath  a-  done,  in  both  respects,  the  very  reverse 

bridged  it  insiich  a  manner  as  hath  of  what  he  ought  to  have  done."  Pialv 

^ttite  marred  it,  since  the  reader  will  manazar's  Life,  p.  309. 


BOWER. 


'259 


(p\y  protestant  friends ;  and,  among  the  rest,  to  sir  Thomas 
Mostyn^s  lawyer,  and  to  sir  Thomas  himself,  offering  at 
the  same  time  the  above-mentioned  sum  to  him,  as  he  well 
remenibers,  and  is  ready  to  attest  But  neither  sir  Tho^ 
mas,  nor  any  of  my  other  protestant  friends,  caring  to 
.burthen  their  estates  with  a  life-rent,  I  left  my  mon^  in 
the  funds  till  August  1741,  when  being  informed  that  an 
act  of  parliament  had  passe/1  for  rebuilding  a  church  in  th^ 
city  of  London,  St.  Botolph^s  Aldgate  *,  upon  life*annui* 
ties,  at  seven  per  cent  I  went  upon  that  information  into 
th^  city,  with  a  design  to  dispose  of  my  money  that  way. 
That  this  was  my  intention,  Mr.  Norris,  eldest  son  to  the 
Jate  sir  John  Norris,  with  whQm  I  advised  about  it  at  the 
time,  still  remembers,  and  is  ready  if  required  to  declare* 
But  I  came  too  late,  and  found  the  subscription  was  closed. 
This  disappointment  I  mentioned  to  Mn  Hill,  whom  I  ac^ 
cidentaily  met  in  WilPs  coffee-house,  near  the  Royal  Ex*- 
change  ;  and  upon  his  offering  me  the  same  interest  that 
was  given  by  the  trustees  of  the  above-mentioned  churchy 
the  bargain  was  concluded  in  a  few  meetings,  and  the  sun^ 
of  1100/.  transferred,  Aug.  21,  1741,  not  to  Mr.  Shirburn^ 
as  is  said  in  the  letter  from  Flanders,  p.  64,  but  to  Mr* 
Wright,  Mr.  Hill's  banker,  as  appears  from  the  books  of 
the  Old  South  Sea  annuities.  Mr.  Hill  was  a  Jesuit,  but 
transacted  money  matters  as  an  attorney,  and .  was  in  that 
way  a  very  noted  man,  bore  the  character  of  a  fair  dealer^ 
and  dealt  very  largely  in  affairs  of  that  nature  with  protes* 
tants  as  well  as  with  papists.  It  was  with  him  I  immedi* 
ately  dealt ;  as  is  manifest  from  the  orders  on  his  banker 
or  cashier,  Mr.  Wright,  in  p.  72  of  the  libel,  which  were 
all  signed  by  him,  and  by  nobody  else ;  and  he  paid  me  so 
punctually,  that  some  time  after  I  added  250/.  to  the  sum 
already  in  his  hands,  and  received  for  the  whole  94/.  10^. 
^  year.    I  afterwards  resolved  to  marry ;  and  it  was  chiefly 


<  *  fn  this  circumstance,  howerer,  he 
iras  mistaken.  His  Answer  says :  "  I 
can  now  take  upon  me  to  assure  the 
public,  that  Mr.  Bower's  journey  into 
the  city  to  lend  his  money  at  St.  Bo- 
tolph's,  his  coming  too  late,  and  finding 
the  subscription  closed,  and  his  acci- 
dental meeting  with  Mr.  Hill  at  Will's 
cofitee-house,  as  related  in  his  Defence* 
are  fictions  of  the  inventive  imagina- 
tion of  a  man  who  appears  to  be  ca- 
pable of  saying  any  tbiogf  whei^  he 


thinks  he  shall  not  be  traced.*'  Full 
Confutation  of  Mr.  Bower,  p.  6S^— la 
reply  to  which  Mr.  Bower  says,  **  It 
mi^ht  he  St.  Catherine's  Coleman,  Fen* 
church-street,  or  any  other;  that  the 
point  of  importance  was,  that  he  meant 
to  subscribe  to  a  church,  though  his 
memory  at  such  a  distance  of  time 
might  mistake  ,the  particular  one." 
Mr.  Bower's  Reply  to  the  Full  Coofiita« 
tion,  p.  33. 

S2 


^60  BOWER. 

upon  that  consideration^  though  not  upon  that  alone,  I 
«tppllfed»tb  Mr.  Hill  to  know  upon  what  terms  he  would 
return  me  the  capital.  Thie  terms  he  proposed  were  as  easy 
^s  I  could  expect :  for  he  agreed  at  once  to  repay  it,  only 
*cteductins:  what  I  had  received  over  and  above  the  com- 
iioh  intferest  of  four  per  cent,  during  the  time  it  had  been 
in  his  hands;  and  he  did  so,  accordingly,  as  soon  as  he 
'conveniently  could.  Thus  did  tliis  money  transaction  begin 
Avith  Mr.  Hill,  was  carried  On  by  Mr.  Hill,-  and  with  Mr. 
«iH  did  it  end.'* 

The  account  of  this  transaction  given  by  his  opponents 
Ss  niaterially  different.  By  them  it  is  asserted,  that  after 
%.  time  he  wished  to  return  into  the  arms  of  the  church  he 
had  renounced,  and  therefore,  in  order  to  recommend 
inmself  to  his  superiors,  he  had  recourse  to  a  method 
which  he  thought  would  effectually  prove  his  sincerity  to- 
ivards  them.  He  proposed  to  father  Shirburn,  then  pro- 
vincial in  England,  to  give  up  to  him,  as  representative  of 
the  society,  the  money  he  thien  possessed^  on  condition 
of  being  paid  for  it,  during  his  life,  an  annuity  at  the  rate 
•of  seven  per  cent.  This  offer  was  accepted ;  and  on  the 
-Slst  of  August  1741,  he  paid  to  father  Shirburn  1100/.; 
andFon  the  27th  of  February  1741-2,  he  paid  to  the  same 
person  150/.  more  upon  the  same  conditions.  Nor  did  bis 
oonfidence  rest  here ;  for,  on  the  6th  of  August  1 743,  be 
added  another  100/.  to  the  above  sums,  now  augmented  to 
1350/.  when  the  several  annuities  were  reduced  into  one, 
amounting  to  94/.  10^.  for  which  a  bond  was  given.  This 
negotiation  had  the  wished  effect ;  and  otir  author  wad 
re-admitted  in  a  formal  manner  into  the  order  of  Jesus,  at 
luondon,  about  the  end  of  1744  or  beginning  of  1745. 

It  seems  difficult  to  assign  a  sufficient  reason  why^  after 
having  been  re-admitted  to  the  order,  he  should  again 
grow  dissatisfied  with  his  situation ;  though  some  conjec- 
tures have  been  offered  to  account  for  it.  Certain  it  is, 
however,  he  once  more  determined  to  break  with  the  Jesuit^ 
and  obtain  his  money  again.  To  accomplish  this  point, 
he  engaged  in  the  correspondence  which  afterwards  was 
$o  much  canvassed.  It  answered,  however,  his  purpose; 
and  he  received  his  money  back  from  the  borrowers  on  the 
20thof  June  1747. 

The  success  of  the '' "  Universal  History"  in  its  first 
edition,  encouraged  the  proprietors  to  venture  on  a  se* 


BOWER. 


asi 


cond;  and  tbey  had  recourse^  unluckily  for  themselves^ 
and  the  credit  of  the  work,  to  the  aid  of  Mr.  Bower^i  to 
revise  and  correct  it.  For  thi»  service  he  received  the  sum 
of  300/.  though  it  is  asserted  he  did  very  little  to  the  work ; 
and  that  even  upon  collating  the  two  editions,  so  far  as 
Mr.  Sale  wrote,  where  he  professed  to  have  done  much,  it- 
appeared  he  had  not  made  a  single  alteration,  only  substi- 
tuted in  a  few  places  the  Hebrew  chronology  in  the  room 
of  the  Samaritan. 

Being  thus  disengaged  from  his  literary  employmen.ty 
though  he  had  not  then  received  back  his  money  from  the 
J^esuits,  he,  on  the  25th  of  March  1747,  put  forth  the 
proposals  for  his  "  History  of  the  Popes  ;'*  a  work,  which, 
he  says,  he  undertook  some  years  since  at  Rome,  and  theii( 
brought  it  down  to  the  pontificate  of  Victor,  that  is,  to 
the  close  of  the  second  century.  In  the  execution  of  this 
work  at  that  period  he  professes  to  have  received  the  first 
"unfavourable  sentiments  of  the  pope's  supremacy.  On 
the  13th  of  May  1748,  ]xe  presented  to  the  king  the  first 
volume ;  and  ou  the  deatli  of  Mr.  Say,  keeper  of  queen 
Caroline's  library  (10th  of  September),  one  of  his  friends 
(Mr.  Lyttelton,  afterward^  lord  Lyttelton)  applied  to  Mr* 
Pelham  for  that  place  for  him,  and  obtained  it.  The  next 
year,  1749,  on  the  4th  of  August,  he  married  a  piece  of 
bishop  Nicolson,  and  daughter  of  a  clergyman  of  th^ 
church  of  England,  a  yeunger  son  of  a  gentleman's  family 
in  Westmoreland,  who  haa  a. fortune  of  4000/.  sterlings 
and  then  had  a  child  by  a  former  husband ;  which  child  h§ 
afterwards  deposed  on  oath  was  no  way  injured  by  his  mar^ 
riage.  He  had  been  engaged  in  a  treaty  of  marriage, 
which  did  not  take  effect,  in  1745.  In  1751,  the  second 
volume  of  the  History  of  the  Popes  made  its  appearance  f. 


•  •*  With  respect  to  the  manage' 
meat  of  the  partners  about  this  second 
^itiop,  tbey  were  guilty  of  two  fatal 
errors  :  the  first  in  comoiitting  so  great 
a  share  of  the  work,  as  well  as  the  re- 
visal  of  the  whole,  to  a  man  who  thay 
had  all  reason  to  believe  aimed  chiefly 
^t  gain  and  dispatch  ^  and  to  agree 
with  him  by  the  lump,  as  they  did, 
which  would  only  prove  a  temptation 
lo  him  to  hurry  it  off  as  fast  as  he 
could ;  and  as  he  accordingly  did,  to 
their  no  small  mortification,  as  well  as 
^urt  to  themselVes  and  to  the  work*    I 


might  add,  that  as  he  was  and  owne4 
himself  quite  unacquainted  with  the 
eastern  languages,  he  was  the  mos^ 
unqualified  for  several  parts,  that  fell 
to  his  lot  of  any;  and  if  care  had  not 
been  taken,  would  haire  committed 
sucll  mistakes  in  the  very  spelling  of 
'the  proper  names,  as  would  quite  have 
discredited  it."— Psalmanazar's  Xafc, 
p.  329.  ..  See  also  p.  320. 

f  In  a*  letter  from  lord  Xyttelton  to 
Dr.  Doddridge,  dated  OcU  XiSl,  ho 
says,    **  Vou  have  brought  ou  yqnr 

distemper  t>y  to^  cqntJBvisd  study^  s^nd 


262 


B  6  W  E  R. 


In  the  same  year,  1751,  Mr.  Bower  published  by  way  of 
stipplement  to  his  second  volume,  seventeen  sheets,  which 
were  delivered  to  his  subscribers  gratis ;  and  about  the 
latter  end  of  1753  he  produced  a  third  volume,  which 
brought  down  his  history  to  the  death  of  pope  Stephen,  in 
757.  His  constant  friend  Mr.  Lyttelton,  at  this  time  be- 
come a  baronet,  iii  April  1754  appointed  him  clerk  of  the 
buck  warraints,  instead  of  Henry  Read,  esq.  who  held  that 
place  under  the  earl  of  Lincoln.  This  office  was  probably 
of  no  great  emolument.  Kis  appointment  to  it,  how- 
ever, serves  to  shew  the  credit  he  was  in  with  his 
patron. 

It  was  in  this  year  the  first  serious  attack  was  made  upon 
him  on  account  of  his  "History  of  the  Popes,*'  in  a 
pamphlet  printed  at  Douay,  entitled  *^  Remarks  on  the 
two  first  volumes  of  the  late  Lives  of  the  Popes.  In  letters 
from  a  gentleman  to  a  friend  in  the  country,'*  8vo ;  and 
written,'  as  Mr.  Bower  asserted,  by  a  popish  priest,  Butler, 
one  of  the  most  active  and  dangerous  emissaries  of  Rome 
in  this  kingdom.  His  correspondence  with  the  Jesuits  at 
last  came  to  light ;  and  falling  into  the  hands  of  a  person 
who  possessed  both  the  sagacity  to  discover,  and  the  in-« 
jdustry  to  pursue  and  drag  to  public  notice  the  practices 
of  our  historian,  the  warfare  began  in  1756,  and  ended  in 
the  total  disgrace  of  Mr.  Bower.  After  a  careful  perusal 
of  the  controversy,  a  list  of  which  is  here  added  in  a  note, 
we  are  compelled  to  believe  that  our  author  (who,  shock- 
ing as  it  may  be  to  observe,  made  an  affidavit,  denying 
the  authenticity  of  letters  we  think  fully  proved)  was 
clearly  convicted  of  the  material  charges  alleged  against 
him.  He  repelled  the  attack,  however,  made  on  him,  with 
great  spirit;  and  continued  to  assert  his  innocence,  and  to 
charge  his  eneories  with  foul  practices,  long  after  bis 
**  History  of  the  Popes,"  as  well  as  his  own  veracity,  had 
fallen  into  contempt.  We  find,  in  the  course  of  this  con- 
troversy, he  ran  some  hazard  of  being  brought  on  the  stage 
.by  Mr.  Garrick,  on  account  qf  the  manner  in  ^ich  he 


* 

labour  in  your  spiritual  functions,  and 
an  entire  remission  of  mind  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  your  recovery.  ^I 
therefore  request  it  of  you  not  to  write 
the  f>refi^ce  to  Bower's  book:  it  will 
do  more  bartn  to  you  than  good  to  him : 
it^e  inerit  of  the  work  will  bear  it  up 


against  all  these  attacks;  and  aa  to 
the  ridiculous  story  of  my  having'  dis- 
carded him,  the  intimate  friendship  in 
which  we  continue  to  live  will  be  a  suf- 
ficient answer  to  that,  and  better  than 
any  testimony  formally  given." — Do^n 
4ridge*s  Letters^  p^  471,  870/^790^ 


B  O  W  £  R.  263 

iV)entioned  that  incomparable  actor  and  his  lady  in  one  oif 
his  works*. 

JFrom  this  period  bis  whole  time  seems  to  have  been 
spent  in  ineffectual  attacks  upon  his  enemies,  and  equally 
vain  efforts  to  recover  the'  reputation  of  himself  and  his 
"  History  of  the  Popes ;"  which  points  he  pursued  with 
great  spirit,  considering  the  age  to  which  he  had  then  at- 
tained. Before  the  controversy  had  ended,  he  published 
his  fourth  volume  ;  and  in  J  757  an  abridgment  of  the  first 
four  volumes  of  his  work  was  published  in  French  at  Am- 
sterdam. In  L761  he  seems  to  have  assisted  the  author  of 
**  Authentic  Memoirs  concerning  the  Portuguese  Inquisi- 
tion, in  a  series  of  letters  to  a  friend/'  8vo ;  and  about 
the  same  time  produced  the  fifth  volume  of  his  History  of 
the  Popes.  To  this  volume  he  annexed  a  summary  view 
of  the  controversy  between   himself  and  the  papists,  iu 

*  This  was  in  his.  <<  Summary  view  his  friendship,  and  his  lordship  had, 
of  the  Controversy  between  the  Papists  notwithstanding  all  that  had  been  said 
and  the  Author,''  4to,  p.  16S;  where-  and  written  against  Bower,  continued 
in,  after  taking  notice  of  an  observa-  to  countenance  and  protect  him,  he 
tioa  of  his  antagonist,  that  he  had  not  thought  it  an  act  of  decency  to  ac- 
ventnred  of  laie  to  visit  the  gentleman  quaint  his  lordship  with  his  intention* 
^nd  lady  mentioned  in  one'  of  the  Mr.  Garrick  read  his  own  letter,  to  me»; 
pamphlets  published  against  him,  he  as  well  as  his  lordship's  answer.  The 
replies:  *' Now,  that  foreigners,  and  first  contained  complaints  of  Bower's 
they  who  live  at  a  distance  from  Lon-  ill  behaviour  to  Mr.  GarricK;  his  reso- 
don,  may  not  think  that  I  dare  not  lution  to  write  a  farce,  with  a  short 
$hew  my  face  at  the  house  of  any  real  outline  of  it,  in  which  Bower  was  to  be 
gentleman  or  real  lady  where  I  was  introduced  on  the  stage  as  a  mock  con- 
once  honoured  with  admittance,  I  beg  vert,  and  to  be  shewn  in  a  variety  of 
leave  to  inform  them  who  the  gentle-  attitudes,  in  which  the  profligacy  of  his 
man  and  lady  are.  The  gentleman,  character  was  to  be  exposed.  How- 
then,  is  Mr.  Garrick,  an  actor  who  ever,  be  submitted  the  matter  to  his 
BOW  acts  upon  the  stage.  The  lady  lordship,  and  declared,  that  be  should 
is  his  wife,  Mrs.  Garrick,  alias  Violetti,  not  proceed  a  step  in  his  intended  re- 
who  within  these  few  years  danced  sentment  without  his  permission.  The 
■u|)on  the  stage.  To  do  them  justice,  answer,  I  remember  perfecUy  weU^ 
they  are  both  eminent  in  tbeir  way,  was  comprised  in  very  condescending 
The  gentleman*  though  no  Koscius,  is  and  polite  terms:  but,  at  the  same 
as  well  known  and  admired  for  his  act<v  time,  he  declined  the  countenancing  ao 
ing  as  the  lady  for  ber  dancing ;  and  attempt  which  would  be  attended,  per* 
the  lady  was  as  well  knqwn  and  ad-  haps,  with  some  little  uneasiness  to 
mired  for  her  dancing  as  the  gentle*  himself^  He  expressed  himself  in  the 
man  is  for  his  acting;  and  they  are  most  obliging  and  friendly  terms  to  Mr. 
in  that  sense  pqr  nobile,^^  -^  <*  This  Garrick  i  and,  as  far  as  I  can  recoU 
contemptuous  notice,"  as  Mr.  pa-  lect,  recommended  the  suppressingiiis 
yie^  observes,  "alarmed  the  spirits  lateodeJchastisemeotof Bower.''^— Life 
find  iired  the  resentment  of  our  mft-  of  Garrick,  vol.  I.  p.  272.  Mr,  Davies 
nagerj  he  determined  to  make  an  ex-  adds,  that  "  Mr.  Garrick,  in  conse- 
,  ampljB  of  the  impostor,  and  to  bring  quence  of  lord  Lyttelton's  letter,  gave 
^Is  character  upon  the  stage.  But  as  up  all  further  thoughts  of  introdo^ii^ 
jord  J^yttelton  bad  honoured  him  wiUi  BQwer  to  the  public," 


264 


B  O  W  E  R. 


0^ 


J 80  pages;  a  performance,  v^rhich,  from  the  virulence  of 
his  abuse,  was  more  calculated  to  impress  the  reader  with' 
the  conviction  of  his  guilt,  than  to  afibrd  any  satisfaction 
6f  his  innocence. 

Whether  through  the  neglect  of  the  work  by  the  public, 
or  his  age,  declining  abilities,  or  to  whatever  other  cause 
it  is  to  be  ascribed,  the  remainder  of  his  history  did  ndb 
make  its  appearance  until  just  before  the  author's  death, 
when  the  sixth  and  seventh  volumes  were  published  to- 
gether, and  these  in  so  hasty  and  slovenly  a  manner,  that 
the  whole  period  from  1600  to  1758  was  comprehended  in 
twenty-six  pages. — He  died  on  the  3d  September  1766,  at 
the  age  of  eighty  years,  and  was  buried  in  Mary-le-bone 
church-yard,  with  an  inscription  maintaining  his  purity 
^nd  innocence.  By  his  will,  made  on  the  1st  of  August 
1749,  which  does  not  contain,  &s  might  be  expected,  any 
declaration  of  his  religious  principles  ^,  he  bequeathed  all 
his  property  to  his  wife,  who,  some  time  after  his  death, 
fittested  bis  having  died  in  the  protestant  faith  f  \. 


^  Thill  is  the  more  remarkable,  as 
it  was  very  much  the  practice  of  the 
times,  and  as  from  the  peculiarity  of 
Mr.  Dower's  situation  it  seems  to  have 
been  particularly  incumbetat  on  him, 
on  that  solemn  occasion,  to  have  given 
the  world  that  satisfaction.  In  his 
i\nswcr  to  Bower  and  Tillemont  com- 
pared, p.  3,  he  says  he  was  married 
SOih  of  August  1749.  From  the  date 
of  hi$  will  it  appear^  he  was  married 
earlier  than  August. 

f  This  we  remember  to  have  seen 
in  tiie  London  Chronicle. 

t  The  following  is  a  Hst  of  the  pieces 
published  in  consequence  of  the  His- 
tory of  the  Popes:  I.  A  Dialogue  be- 
tween Archibald  and  Timothy;  or, 
iome  observations  upon  the  dedicatiou 
^nd  preface  to  the  History  of  the 
Popes,  &c.  1*748,  8vo.  2.  A  faithful 
Account  of  Mr.  A.  B— r's  motives 
Ibr  leaving  his  oiUce  of  secretary,  &c. 
1750,  8vo.  3.  Remarks  on  the  two 
first  volumes  of  the  late  Lives  of  the 
Popes,  in  letters  from  a  gentleman 
to  a  friend  in  the  country,  Douay; 
1754, 8vo.  4.  Six  Letters  from  A  'd 
JB — ^r  to  father  Sheldon,  provincial 
of  the  Jesuits  in  England.  Illustrated 
with  several  remarkable  facts,  tending 
to  ascertain  the  authenticity  of  the  said 
letters,  and  the  true  character  of  the 
vriteri  1756j  8vo.    5.  Mr.  Archibald 


> 


Bower's  affidavit  in  answer  to  the  False 
accusations  brought  again<:t  him  by  the 
papists,  ^c.  1756v  8vo.    6.  Bower  vin-^ 
dicated  from  the  false  insinuations  and 
accusations   of  the  papist s^     tVith  a 
short  account  of  his  character,    &c. 
By  a  country  neighbour,  1756,  8vo. 
7.  Mr.  Bower's  answer  to  a  scurrilous 
pamphlet  entitled  Six  Letters,  &c.  Part 
I.  1757,  8vo.    8.  Bower  and  Tillemont 
compared  j  or,  the  first  volume  of  the 
pretended  original  and  protestant  His- 
tory of  the  Popes  shewn  to  be  cliiefly  a 
translation  from   a   popish   one,   &:c« 
1757,  Bvo.     9.  Mr.  Bower's  Answer  to 
a  new  charge  broiight  against  him  in  a   - 
libel  entitled  Bower  and  Tillemont  comf- 
pared,  1757,    8vo.     10.   The    sec'aftf 
Part  of  Mr.  Bower's  Answer  to  a' sour-    » 
rilous  pamphlet,  &c.  1757,  8vo.     1'^^  jj 
A  f^uU  Confutation  of  all  the!  fadt^  iid; 
vanced  in  Mr.  Bower's  three  def^ces^ 
&c.  1757,  8vo.     12.  Mr.  Bower'^  Rev, 
ply  to  a  scurrilous   Libel,  entitled  1^', 
full  Confutatiou,  &c,  1757,' 8 vo.  '  13. -v 
A  complete  and  final  detectioif ofAfrcfii"-/^ 
j^owcr,  &c.  1758,  8vo.    14.  One  vefjf 
remarkable  fact  more  relathig  to'^lid^ 
conduct  of  the  Jesuits,  &c,    "By  Mr. 
Bower,  1758,  8vo.    15.  Some  very  re- 
markable' facts  lately  discovered,  re&' 
lating  to  the  conduct  of  the  Jesuifi 
with  regard  to  Mr.  Bower,  which  will, 
greatly  contribute  to  unravel  the  mpf^\ 


7  O  W  L  E.  fidS 

BOWLE  (Johk),  an  ingenious  soholaf^  who,  from  his 
ittacfament  to  Spanish  literature,  was  usually  called  by  his 
friends  Don  Bowie,  was  a  descendant  from  Dr.  John  Bowle^ 
bishop  of  Rochester  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
Cientury.  He  was  born  in  1725,  and  educated  at  Oriel 
coltege>  OxfcNTd,  where  he  took  his  master^s  degree  in 
1750,  and  having  Entered  into  holy  orders,  was  presented 
tO'the  vicarage  of  Idtnisfon,  Wiltshire.  In  1776  he  was 
elected  F.  S.  A.  He  was  a  man  of  great  erudition,  and 
much  respected  for  his  various  researches  in  itntiquity^ 
>nd  various  other  lucubrations  in  obsCure  literature.  H6 
had  the  honour  of  beling  one  of  ihe  first  detectors  of  Lau^ 
der's  forgeries,  and  according  to  Dr.  Douglas's  account^ 
had  the  justest  claim  to  be  considered  as  the  original  de- 
tector 'of  that  unprincipled  impostor.  In  1765,  he  was 
editor  of  "  Miscellaneous  pieces  of  ancient  English  Poesiie,'* 
contttining  Sbaktspeare's  ^^King  John,''  and  some  of  the  sa* 
lires  of  Marston.  To  a  very  accurate  and  extensive  fund 
of  classical  learning,  he  had  added  a  comprehensive  know« 
ledge  of  most  of  the  modem  languages,  particularly  of  thd 
Spani^,  Italian,  and  French;  and  in  the  course  of  his 
reading  contacted  a  fondness  for  Cervantes'  admirable 
romance,  which  could  scarcely  be  said^to  be  kept  within 
Reasonable  bounds.  Don  Quixote  himself  did  not  sally 
forth  with  more  enthusiasm  than  Mr.  BoWle,  when,  in  1777 
he  published  "  A  Letter  to  the  rev.  Dr.  Percy,  concerning 
\  a  new  and  classical  edition*  of  Historia  del  valoroso  Caval* 
lero'  Don  Quixote  de  la  Mancha,  to  be  illustrated  by  an*- 

tejy  of  that  affair,  &c.    By  the  rev.  A      '  -d,  coacerning  hie  motives  for  r«« 

J.ohn  Corpe,  r«ctor  of  Way  ford,  Somer-  nonncing  the  popish  and  re-embjracing 

set,  1738,  8\'o.    16.  Bower  detected  as  tke  protestabt  relig^HMi,  1758,  Svo.    19. 

ao  historian,   or  his  many   essential  Suauiiary    view    Of    the   cof^trovenv 

omissions,  and  more  essential  perver-  between  the  Papists  and  the  Author, 

sions  of  facts  in  favour  of  popei'y  de-  1761,  4to.    20.  A  brief  refutatien  of 

^  tBonstrated,   by  oemparing  the  three  the  principal  charges  broitght  against 

"^  tolomesof  bis  History  with  the  first  Mr.  Bower  by  his  enemies,  extracted 

volume  of  the  French  History  of  tiie  from  the   Summary   View,  4to.     21* 

Popes  now  translating.     By  the  rev.  The  reverend  Detector:  or,  the  dis- 

Temple  Henry  Croker,  175$,  8vo.   17.  guised  Jesuit  detected,  or  proved  out 

Bfr.  A d's  motives  for  reuounoing  of  his  own  mouth    a  liar  and  a  sian- 

^ihe  popish  and  re-embracing  the  pro*  derer,  4to.     22.  The  Seven  Letters  to 

t«staAt  religion,  in  M'hidh  he  was  eda-  fktber 'Sheldon  proved  to  be  forgeriei         ^ 

cated,  with  several  fresh  instances  of  by  the  tesllmony  of  a  professed  Jesuit,        (^ 

the  unchristian  principles  of  the  papists  4to.     Of  the  above,  the  articles  No.  4, 

in  genera),  and  the  Jesuits  in  parti*  8,  and^lS^.  were  written  by  Dr.  Dong-      //' 

oillar«  1766,  8vo.    18.  A  Letter  to  Mr.  ■  las,  late  bishop  of  Saiitbory.  ^ 

1  Life  oomptied  from  the  above  pamphlets  for  the  last  edition  of  this  Dio- 
tionary. — See  Gent.  Mag.  and  Month.  Rev.  Indexes.  See  also  some  favourable 
ipetticulitrs,  Oeot.  Mag.  i^.  lia?  j  L2^L  1  IS  i  IXXXX,  509. 


««  BOW  L  E. 

notations  and  extracts  from  the  historiatis,  poets,  and  fd^ 
mances  of  Spain  and  Italy,  and  other  writers  ancient  and 
modem,  with  a  glossary  and  indexes,  in  which  are  occa- 
sionally interspersed  some  reflections  on  the  learning  and 
genius  of  the  author,  with  a  map  of  Spain  adapted  to  the 
history,  and  to  every  translation  of  it,'^  4to.     He  gave  ako 
an  outline  of  the  life  of  Cervantes  in  the  Gent.  Mag.  for 
1731,  and  circulated  proposals  to  print  the  work  by  subn 
scription  at  three  guineas  each  copy.     It  appeared  accord'* 
ingly  in  1781,  in  six  quarto  volumes,  the  first  four  consist*- 
ing  of  the  text,  the  fifth  of  the  anaotations,  and  the  sixth 
is  wholly  occupied  by  the  index,  but  the  work  did  nol 
answer  his  expectations.     The  literary  journals  were, either 
silent  or  spoke  slightingly  of  his  labours  ;  and  the  public 
sentiment  seemed  to  be  that  annotations  on  Cervantes  were 
not  quite  so  necessary  as  on  Shakspeare.^    He  appears, 
however,  to  have  taken  some  pains  to  introduce  them  to 
the  public  in  a  favourable  light.     In  1784  (Gent.  Mag. 
LIV.  p.  565)  we  find  him  bmenting  certain  ^^  unfair  prac- 
tices respecting  the  admission  of  an  account  of  the  work 
into  two  periodical  publications  to  which  he  had  some 
reason  to  think  he  was  entitfed."     He  adds,  that  the  per-* 
petrators  of  these -practices  were   ''  a  false  friend,  and 
another,  whose  encomium  he  should  regard  as  an  affront 
and  real  slander ;  the  one  as  fond  of  the  grossest  flattery, 
as  the  other  ready  to  give  it,  and  both  alike  wholesale 
dealers  in  abuse  and  detraction.*^'     Nor  was  this  all ;  in 
17;85  he  published  **  Remarks  on  the  extraordinary  con- 
duct of  the  Knight  of  the  Ten  Stars  and  his  Italian  Squire, 
to  the  editor  of  Don  Quixote.     In  a  letter  to  I.  S.  D.  D.'* 
8vo.  This  produced  an  answer  from  the  **  Italian  Squire,'* 
Baretti,  not  of  the  most   gentleman^like   kind,   entitled 
**  Tolondron.  Speeches  to  John  Bowie,  about  his  edition  of 
Don  Quixote,"  8vo,  1786,  ^nd  with  this  the  controversy 
ended.     Mr.  Bowie  contributed  many  valuable  hints  and 
corrections  to  Granger's  History,  and  many  criticisms  and 
illustrations  to  Johnson  and  Steevens's  edition  of  Shakspeare^ 
and  Warton's  History  of  Poetry.     His  course  of  reading 
well  qualified  him  £pr  literary  aid  of  this  description.     In 
the  Arch8eologia,voj.  VL  VII.  and  VIH.  are  four  papers  by 
him,  on  the  ancient  pronunciation  of  the  French  language^ 
on  some  musical  instruments  mentioned  in  ^^  Le  Roman  d« 
la  Rose  ;''  on  parish  registers ;  and  on  cards.    He  was  also, 
under  various  signaturesi  a  frequent  contributor  to  tUf^ 


B  O  W  Y  E  R.  267 

<l€titlan^Q'8  Magazine,  but  as  a  divine  he  was^  not  known' 
to  the  public.     He  died  Oct.  26,  1788. ' 

BOWYER  (William),  the  most  learned  English  printer 
of  whom  we  have  any  account,  was  born  in  Dogwell-court, 
White  Fryars,  London,  on.  the  19th  of  December,  1 699.  His 
father,  whose  name  was  also  William,  was  of  distinguished 
eminence  in  the  ftame  profession  ;  and  his  maternal  grand- 
&dber  (Thomas  Dawte)  was  employed  in  printing  the  cele- 
bvited  Polygtett  Bible  of  bishop  Walton.     At  a  proper 
age,  he  was  placed,  for  grammatical  education,  under  the 
care  of  Mr.  Ambrose  Bonwicke,  a  non-juring  clergyman  of 
known  "piety  and  learning,  who  then  lived  at  Headley,  near 
Leatberhead  in  Surrey.     Here  Mr.  Bowyer  made  such  ad- 
vances in  literature  as  reflected  the  highest  credit  both  on 
himself  and  his  preceptor ;  for  whose  memory,  to  his  latest 
years^  he  entertained  the  sincerest  respect ;  and  to  whose 
family  he  always  remained  an  useful  friend.     The  attach- 
ment, indeed,  was  mutual ;  and  the  following  instance  of 
the  good  school-master^s  benevolence  made  an  indelible 
impression  on  the  mind  of  his  pupil.     On  the   30th  of 
January,   1712-13,  the  whole  prcfperty  of  the  elder  Mr, 
Bowyer  was  destroyed  by  a -dreadful  fire  ;  on  which  occa- 
sion, Mr.  Bonwicke,    with  great  generoisity,  and  no  less 
delicacy  (endeavouring  to  conceal  its  being  his  own  act  of 
.kindness),  took  upon  him,  for  one  year,  the  expences  of 
his  scholar's  board  and  education.    In  June  1716,  young 
Mr.  Bowyer  was  admitted  as  a  «izar  at  St.  John's  college, 
Cambridge,  of  which  Dr.  Robert  Jenkin  was  at  that  time 
master.     The  doctor  had  been  a  benefactor  to  the  elder 
IVf  r.  Bowyer  in  the  season  of  his  calamity  ;  and  the  son,  at 
the.  distance  of  sixty  years,  had  the  happiness  of  returning 
the  favour  to  a  relation  of  the  worthy  master,  in  a  manner 
by  which  the  person  obliged  was  totally  ignorant  to  whom 
Ive  was  indebted  for  the  present  he  received.'  Mr.  Bowyer 
continued  at  Cambridge  under  the  tuition,  first^  of  Dr.  An<* 
fitey,  and  afterwau*ds  of  the  rev.  Dr.  John  Newcome,  till 
June  1722,  during. which  time  he  obtained  Roper^s  exhi- 
bition, and  wrote^  in  1719,  what  he  called  '^  Epistola  pro 
iSodalitio  A  rev.  vtro  F*  Roper  mihi  legato ;"  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  he  took  his  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts.     Not- 
.witbstanding    an  habitual  shyness  of  disposition,    which 
was  unfavourable  to  him  at  bis  first  appearance,  the  re- 

*  .      " 

1  Nichols's  Life  of  Bowyer.— Gra|ij;er'9  L&ti^n,  o,  ^7«¥47.^WoQlP8  Life  nC 
"^ayton,  p,  399/  402. 


t6S  B  O  W,Y  E  R. 

gularity  of  bis  conduct,  and  bis  application  to  study,  pii5« 
cured  bim  tbe  esteem  of  many  very  respectable  memben 
of  tbe  university.  Here  it  was  that  he  formed  an  intimacy 
with  Mr.  Markland  and  Mr.  Clarke,  two  learned  friendb 
with  whom  he  maintained  a  regular  correspondenee 
through  life ;  and  their  letters  contain  a  treasure  of  po<r 
lite  literature  and  sound  oriticitfrn.  On  the  death  of  Mr. 
Bonwicke,  bis  grateful  scholar  had  an  opportunity  of  Te-> 
quiting,  in  some  measure,  tbe  obtigfttions  he  bad  received, 
by  officiating,  for  a  time,  in  the  capacity  of  a  tchooU 
master,  for  the  benefit  of  the  family ;  but  before  this,  be 
had  entered  into  the  printing  business,  together  with  hia 
father,  in  June  1722  ;  and  one  of  tbe  first  books  which  te^ 
ceived  the  benefit  of  his  correction^  was  tbe  complete  edi* 
tion  of  Selden  by  Dr.  David  Wilkius,  in  three  volumes, 
folio.  This  edition  was  begun  in  1722,  and  finished  in 
1726  ;  and  Mr.  Bowyer's  great  attention  to  it  appeared  in 
his  drawing  up  an  epitome  of  Selden  ^^  de  Syn^edriis,?'  as 
he  read  the  proof-sheets,  and  the  several  memoranda 
from  '^  The  privileges  of  tbe  Baronage"  and  '^Judicature 
in  Parliament,''  i&c.  which  are  now  printed  in  bi^  *^  Mis-» 
cellaneous  Tracts."  In  1727,  tbe  learned  world  was  in- 
debted to  him  for  an  admirable  sketch  of  William  Baxter's 
-Glossary  of  tbe  Roman  Antiquitiea.  Tbe  sketch  was 
called  **  A  View  of  a  Book,  entitled,  '  Beliquis  Bax* 
teriansB.*  la  a  Letter  to  a  Friend ;"  a  single  sheet,  8vo. 
*  Very  few  copies  were  printed  ;  and,  having  never  been 
published,  it  is  seldom  found  witbtbe  Glossary;  but  it  was 
reprinted  in  tbe  "  Miscellaneous  Tracts."  Dr.  Wotton  and 
Mr.  Clarke  were  highly  pleased  with  this  first  public  prpof 
given  by  Mr.  Bowyer  of  bis  literary  abilities.  •  On  the  ^Oth 
of  December,  1727,  he  lost  an  affectionate  mother,  upon 
which  occasion  he  received  a  letter  of  pious  consolation, 
from  Mr.  ChisbuU,  the  learned  editor  of  tbe  ^^  Antiquitates 
AsiaticsB*" 

Very  highly  to  his  own  and  his  father's  aatisfactioQ,  he 
entered,  on  tbe  9th  of  October,  1926,  into  the  marriage 
atate,  with  Anne  Prudom,  his  mother's  nieoe.  His  hap- 
piness, however,  with  this  ao^omplisbed  woman,  lasted 
but  little  more  than  three  years ;  he  being  deprived  of  her> 
by  death,  on  the  17tb  of  October,  1731.  Of  two  soot, 
whom  be  bad  by  her,  William  died  an. infant,  and  Thomas 
survived  him.  His  friends  Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr.  ChishuU 
wrote  him  very  affectionate  md  Christian  letters  on  tM^ 
melancholy  event 


B  O  W  Y  E  R.  J6f 

r 

',  In  1729,  he  ushered  into  the  world  a  carious  treatise^ 
entitled  **  A  Pattern  for  yonng  Students  in  the  University, 
set  forth  in  the  Life  of  ^*  Mr.  Ambrose  Bonwicke,  some 
time  scholar  of  St  John's  college,  Cambridge."  (See  Bon* 
Wicke).  This  little  volume  was  generally  ascribed  to  our 
learned  printer,  though  it  was  in  reality  the  production  of 
Mr.  Ambrose  Bonwicke  the  elder,  but  the  preface  was  pro- 
bably Mr.  Bowyef^s.  About  the  same  time,  it  appears, 
Irom  a  letter  of  Mr.  Clarke,  that  Mr.  Bowyer  had  written  a 
pamphlet  agamst  the  Separatists  ;  but  neither  the  title  nor 
tile  occasion  of  it  are  at  present  recollected.  Through  the 
friendship  of  the  right  honourable.  Arthur  Onslow,  he  was, 
likewise,  appointed,  in  1729,  printer  of  the  Votes  of  the 
House  of  Commons ;  an  office  which  he  held,  under  three 
successive  speakers,  for  nearly  fifty  years.  In  1730,  he 
^  was  avowedly  the  editor  t)f  "  A  Discourse  concerning  the 
Confusion  of  Languages  at  Babel,  proving  it  to  have  been 
luiraculous,  from  the  essential  difference  between  tbem, 
<:ontrary  to  the  opinion  of  M.  Le  Clerc  and  others.  With 
9Xi  Enquiry  into  the  primitive  language  b^efore  that  won* 
derful  event.  By  the  late  learned  WiUiam.Wotton,  D.D. 
i&c."  In  1731,  he  took  part  in  a  controversy  occasioned 
bya«ermon  of  Mr.  Bowman,  a  clergyman  in  Yorkshire, 
entitled  <<  The  Traditions  of  the  Clergy  destruotive  of  Re* 
ligion,  with  an  Enquiry  into  the  Grounda^  and  Reasons  of 
such  Traditions.^*  This  performance,  which  was  charged 
with  containing  some  of  the  sentiments  that  had  been  adt* 
tranced  by  Dr.  Tindal  in  his  <^  Rights  of  the  Christian 
)Church,^*  and  by  Mr.  Gordon  in  his  ^*  Independent  Whig,^* 
excited  no  small  degree  of  offence ;  and  several  answers 
were  written  to  it,  and  strictures  made  upon  it,  both  of  a 
•serious  and  ludicrous  nature.  Mr.  Bowyer,  upon  this  oc- 
casion, printed  a  pamphlet,  called  '^  The  Traditions  of 
-the  Clergy  not  destructive  of  Religion ;  being  Remarki 
on  Mr.  Bowman's  Sermon  ;  exposing  that  gentleaoan's  de«- 
fieiencyin  Latin  and  'Greek,  in  ecclesiastical  histoiy,  and 
troe  reasoning.^  .^he  dispute,  like  many  others  of .  a 
similar  kind,  is  now  sunk  into  oblivion.  In  1733,  he  pub- 
lished <<  The  Beatv  and  Academick,''  two  sheets,  in4to; 
atraiiskitionfiX)m>*BellusHomo.&  Academicus,  &Ci''  apoem 
'  recited  that  year  at  the  Comitia  in  the  Sheldonian  theatre, 
«iid' afterwards  printed  in  bisTracts.  On  the  7th  of  July^ 
^1756,  Mr.  Bowyer  was  admitted  into  the  Society  of  Anti- 
paries,  of  wbioh  heiuid  been  chosen  printer  in  May  pne^ 


fl70  B  P  W  Y  E  R. 

ceding ;  and  he  was  an  active,  as  well  as  an  early  member 
of  that  respectable  body,  regularly  attending  tbeir  meel^ 
ings,  and  frequently  comiifunicating  to  them  matters  of 
utility  and  curiosity,  which  were  reprinted  in  his  "Tracts*** 
In  conjunction  with  Dr.  Birch,  he  was,  also,  materially 
concerned  in  instituting  "  The  Society  for  the  Encourage- 
ment of  Learning/'  Of  this  Mr.  Nichols  has  given  an  in- 
teresting account.  It  was  certainly  well-meant,  but  inju- 
dicious, and  became  diss|olved  by  its  own  insufficiency. 
On  the  27th  of  December,  1737,  Mr.  Bowyer  lost  his  fa- 
ther, at  the  age  of  seventy- four ;  and  it  is  evident,  from  hia 
scattered  papers,  that  he  severely  felt  this  affliction  ;  ap-*^ 
plying  to  himself  the  beautiful  apostrophe  of  JEneaa  td 
Anchises,  in  Virgil : 

■  ^*'  Hie  me,  pater  optime,  fessum 

«   Deserisy  heu  !  tantis  nequicquam  erepte  periclis  ?*' 

His  friend  Mr.  Clarke  again  addressed  to  him  a  letter  of 
Sjrmpatfay  and  consolation.  In  1741,  Mr,  Bowyer  correct- 
ed, and  put  into  a  convenient  form,  Heuset's  **  Sele^tae  g 
Veteri  Testamento  Historian,"  and  "  Select®  ex  Profanis^ 
&c."  The  prefaces  to  both  these  volumes  were  translated 
by  Mr.  Bowyer,  and  are  inserted  in  his  **  Miscellaneous 
Tracts.''  In  1742,  he  published  a  translation  of  Trapp*i 
**  Latin  Lectures  on  Poetry,"  with  additional  notes.  In 
translating  this  work,  be  had  not  only  the  advice,  but  the 
assistance,  of  his  friend  Mr.  Clarke :  and  yet  this  gentle-' 
man  had  no  high  opinion  of  the  original  "performance.  He 
thought  it  a  very  superficial  book ;  and.  was  particularly 
offended  with  Trapp  for  affecting  to'find  fauh  with  Vossiua 
on  every  little  occasion. 

.  Though  it  is  uot  our  intention  to  notice  the  works  print*- 
ed  by  Mr.  Bowyer,  excepting  when  he^  himself  contri*^ 
buted  to  them  by  prefaces,  notes,  or  other  additions,  yet 
we  shall  mention  his  having  been  the  printer,  in  1742,  of 
the  additional  book  of  the  Dunciad ;  as  he  received,  on  this 
occasion,  testimonies  of  regard  both  from  the  great  poet 
and  .his  learned  commentator.  Among  other  friendly  ex- 
pressions of  Dr.  Warburton,  he  says,  "  I  have  never  more 
pleasure  when  there  (in  London),  than  when  I  loll  and 
talk  with  you  at  my  ease,  de  gualibet  ente^  in  your  dining-, 
room  :'*  And  again,  **  The  Greek  I  know  will  be  well 
printed  in  your  edition,  notwithstanding  the  absence  afScri-' 
blerus?*  The  same  celebrated  writer  had  long  before  told 
•Mr.  Bowyer,  ^^  No  one's  thoughts  will  have  greater  weightr 


B  O  W  Y  E  R.  571 

-^ith  me  than  your  own,  in  whom  I  have  experienced  so 
iduch  candour,  goodness,  and  learning.''  It  is  not,  how- 
ever, to  be  concealed,  that  a  difference  afterwards  arose 
between  them,  in  which,  as  is  qommonly  the  case,  each 
party  was  confident  that  he  was  right.  Mr.  Bowyer,  who 
thought  hioisetf  slighted,  used  often  to  remark,  that,  "  after 
the  death  of  the  English  Homer,  the  letters  of  his  learned 
friend  wore  a  different  complexion."  "  But,  perhaps,** 
as  Mr.  Nichols  candidly  and  judiciously  observes,  '^  this 
may  be  one  of  the  many  instances,  which  occur  through 
life,  of  the  impropriety  of  judging  for  ourselves  in  cases 
^hich  affect  our  interest  or  our  feelings."  Mr.  Bowyer, 
indeed,  had  a  great  sensibihty  of  temper  with  regard  to 
any  neglects  which  were  shewed  him  by  his  literary  friends, 
in  the  way  of  his  business.  This  did  not  proceed  from  a 
principle  of  avarice^  but  from  a  consciousness  of  the  respect 
^hich  was  due  to  him  from  bis  acquaintance,  as  the  first 
of  his  profession :  for  be  expressed  his  resentment  as 
strongly  in  cases  where  profit  could  be  no  material  object, 
as  he  did  in  more  important  instances.  Dr.  Squire,  then 
deai^of  Bristol,  not  having  appointed  him  to  print  a  sermon 
which  had  been  preached  before  the  house  of  commons, 
on  the  general  fast  day,  Feb.  IS,  1761,  Mr.  Bowyer  wrote 
to  the  doctor,  upon  the  occasion,  an  expostulatory  letter. 
JNor  was  this  the  only  evidence  he  gave  how  much  he  was 
offended,  when  he  thought  that  a  slight  had  been  put  upon 
bim  from  a  quarter  where  he  imagined  he  had  a  natural 
claim  to  favour. 

In  1744,  Mr.  Bowyer  is  supposed  to  have  written  a  small 
pamphlet  on  the  present  state  of  Europe,  taken  principally 
firom  Pufendorff.  In  1746,  he  projected,  what  during  his 
>wbole  life  he  had  in  view,  a  regular  edition  of  Cicero's 
Letters,  in  a  chronological  order,  on  a  plan  which  it  is  to 
he  lamented  that  he  did  not  coinplete ;  as  an  uniform  series 
"thus  properly  arranged  would  have  formed  a  real  history  of 
Tully's  life,  and  those  which  cannot  be  dated  might  be 
thrown  to  the  end  without  any  inconvenience.  In  the  same 
year  he  published  "  The  Life  of  the  Emperor  Juliap/' 
translated  from  the  French  of  M.  Bleterie,  and  improved 
mth  twelve  pages  of  curious  notes,  and  a  genealogical 
table.  The  notes  were  not  entirely  Mr.  Bowyer's,  but 
were  drawn  up,  in  part,  by  Mr.  Clarke  and  other  learned 
mea.  The  translation,  by  Miss  Anne  Williams  (Dr.  John^ 
fon's  UmaX^)f  and  the  two  sister^  of  the  name  of  Wilkin* 


372  p  o  w  Y  j:  H. 

t 

I 

SOD,  was  m^de  uoder  l^r.  Bpwyer's  imaiedii^  iii«pectiofr« 
In  this  ye$kr  also,  he  printed,  and  is  supposed  to  have  aus^ 
sisted  in  the  copiposition  of,  ^' A  Pi^ssertation,  in  lybicii  the 
objections  of  a  late  pamphlet  (by  bishop  ^o^^)  to  the  writ* 
logs  of  tlie  ancient^,  after  the  mapner  of  Mr.  MarkUody 
are  clearly  answered :  those  pas^^iges  in  Ta^l>  porrectedy 
on  whict)  sojne  of  the  objections  are  founded ;  wi^ 
Amendments  of  a  few  pieces  of  criticism  ip  Mr.  Marklaad's 
Epiatola  Critica/'  8vo.  On  the  9d  of  August,  ^47,  Mr. 
Bowyer  entered  a  secqnd  time  into  the  nuatrirnQoial  atal^, 
with  a  most  benevolent  and  worthy  wooa^n,  Mrs.  JElizabe^ 
Billy  by  whom  he  had  nc  cbUdren.  In  1750,  he  had  the 
honour  of  sharing,  with  Dr.  Burton,  in  (be  inve^^iyes  most 
liberally  bestowed  by  Dr.  King,  in  his  ^^  JClpgium'  Faow 
inserviens  Jacci  £toni^asis,  siv.e  Gigantis :  ov,  the  PraiMS 
of  Jack  of  Eaton,  jcommonly  caLbed  4a.ok  the  Qianit*'*  Dr. 
King's  abuse  was  probably  owing  t^  his  having  heard  that 
our  learned  printer  had  hinted,  iii  conyers^ktigni  his  doubts 
concerning  the  doctor's  Latioity.  Mr.  Bowyer  drew  iip 
strictures  in  his  own  defence,  which  he  ioAended  ,to  insert 
at  the  conchisioa  of  a  preface  to  Mon(e§quien'iS  Re0ec* 
tions,  iu:^;  but^  in  consequence  of  Mr.  Clarke's  adiriice>  thsgr 
were  omitted.  In  the  tame  year,  a  pf  efatqry  critical  dia* 
sertation,  and  some  valuable  notes,  wsece  a^oe^M^d,  ky  onr 
author,  to  Kuater's  Treatise  ^^  De  verp  usu  Veri^onw 
Mediorum;"  a  new  edition  of  which  work,  witji  further 
improvements,  appeared  in  1773.  £(e  wrote,  likewise, 
about  the  same  time,  a  Latin  preface  to  Leiede^'s  ^  Vetecids 
Poet®  citati,  &c.'  Being  soon  after  employed  to  print  an 
edition  of  colonel  Bladen^s  translation  oiCm^^'^  iCommeor 
taries,  that  work  received  coo^iderable  improvements  from 
Mr.  Bowyer's  hands,  and  the  additiqn  of  .^ch  note.s  in  it 
as  are  sigaed  Typogr.  Iu  the  subsequent  edition^  of  this 
work,  though  printed  by  another  peiison,  and  in  our  au'- 
thor's  life*time,  the  same  signature,  ^xnntrary  to  deoorumt 
and  even  justice,  was  still  retained.  In  17^1,  Jb^  wrote  it 
long  prefiiice  to  Montesquieu's  ^^  BefleoticHis  .cm  the  Rise 
end  FaH  of  the  Roman  Empioe  ;*'  translated  the  Dialogue 
t^etween  Sylla  and  Socrates ;  made  several  corrections  ta 
the  work  from  the  Baron's  ^^  Spirit  of  Laws/'  andimproviad 
it  wi^th  his  own  notes.  A  uew  edition,  with  many  j^om 
potes,  was  printed  in  1759.  He  gave  likewise  ^  ^the 
public,  in  175J,  with  a  preface,  the  first  trauida^ion. that 
jvas  ffiade  of  RoasseauUt  potadoxicalocatioii  gfi  »tfaia  is&oii 


B  O  W  Y  E  R.  27i 

of  the  arts  and  sciences,  which  gained  the  prize  at  the  aca- 
demy of  Dijon,  in  1750;  apd  which  first  announced  that 
singular  genius  to  the  attention  and  admiration  of  Europe. 
Oil -the  publication  of  the  third  edition  of  lord  Orrery?s 
"  Remarks  on  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Dr.  Swift,"  in  1752, 
Mr.  Bowyer    wrote  and  printed,    but    never   published, 
**T\Vo  Lietters  from  Dr.  Bentley  in  the  shades  below,  to 
lord  Orrery  in  a  land  of  thick    darkness.'*     The  notes 
signed  B,  in  the  ninth  quarto  volume  of  Swift's  works,  are 
extracted  from  these  Letters,  which  are  reprinted  at  large 
in  his  **  Tracts."     In  1752,  when  Bp.  Clayton  published 
his  **  Vindication  of  the  Histories  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
tament, in  answer  to  the  Objections  of  Lord  Bolingbroke,'* 
M^.  Bowyer  drew  up  an  analysis  of  the  same,  with  an  inten- 
tion of  sending  it  to  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  :  it  is  no^ 
printed  in  Mr.  Nichols's  "Anecdotes."     In  1753,  to  allay 
the  ferment  occasioned  by  the  Jew  bill,  he  published,  in 
qusferto,  **  Remarks  on  a  Speech  made  in  Common  Council, 
on  the  Bill  for  permitting  persons  professing  the  Jewish  Re-' 
ligioh  to  be  naturalized,  so  far  as  Prophecies  are  supposed 
to  be  affected  by  it."  The  design  of  this  sensible  little  tract, 
whi(;h  was  written  with  spirit,  and  well  received  by  those 
who -were  superior  to  narrow  prejudices,  was  to  shew,  that 
wbati^ver  political  reasons  might  be  alleged  against  the 
Bill,-   Christianity  would  in  no  degree  be  prejudiced  by 
the  indulgence  proposed  to  be  granted  to  the  Jews.     In. 
the  same  year,  some  of  Mr.  Bowyer's  notes  were  annexed 
to  bishop  Clayton's  translation  of  "  A  Journal  from  Grand 
Cailro  to  Mount  Sinai,  and  back  again."     In  1754,  witi^ 
a  Tiew  of  lessening  his   fatigue,   he  entered  into  part-.* 
nei'ship  with  a  relation ;  but  some  disagreements  arising^ 
the  connection  was  dissolved  in  1757,  and  he  resumed  tha 
Active  part  of  business.    In  1760  he  superintended  a  second 
edition  of  Arnald's  **  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Wis- 
dom," and  enriched  it  with  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Markland. 
Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Richardson,  in  1761,  Mr.  Bowyer, 
through  the  patronage  of  the  late  earl  of  Macclesfield,  was 
appointeid  printer  to  the  Royal  Society;  and,  uncler  the 
friendship  of  five  successive  presidents,  had  the  satisfaction. 
of  continuing  in  that  employment  till  his  death.     In  the 
«amfe  year  (1761),  appeared  "Verses  on  the  Coronation 
of  thieir  late  majesties,  king  George  the  Second  and  queen 
Caroline,    October  4,  1727,    spoken   by  the   Scholars*  of 
Westminster  school  (some  of  them  now  the  ornamentt  of 
Vol.  VI.  T 


474  ^  O  W  Y  E  It 

* 

the  Nation)  on  January  15th  following,  being  the  Day  <ft, 
the   Inauguration  of  Queen  Elizabeth,   their  foundress; 
with   a  Translation  of  all  the  Latin  copies:  The  whole 
placed  in  order  of  the  transactions  of  tliat  important  day. 
Adorned  wi^  the  Coronation  Medals  of  the  Royal  Pair^- 
and  a  bust  of  our  present  king.     To  which  is  subjoined 
the  Ceremonial  of  the  august  Procession,  very  proper  to 
be  compared  with  the  approaching  one ;  and  a  Catalogue 
of  the  Coronation  Medals  of  the  Kings  and  Queens  of  Eng« 
iandt"  The  original  part  of  this  pamphlet,  in  which  a  great 
<ieai  of  humour  is  displayed,  was  entirely  Mr«  Bowyer^s : 
the  LaUn  verses  were  translated  partly  by  him,  but  prinr. 
cipally  by  Mr.  Nichols,     Our  learned  printer^s  next  pub-* 
lication  was  of  a  more  serious  and  weighty  nature,  an  ex* 
cellent  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament,  in  two  volumes, 
1763,  12mo,  under  the  following  title:  "  Novum  Testa- 
mentum  Grsecum,  ad  Fidem  Grsecorum  solium  Codicuoi 
MSS.  nunc  prinHum  expressum,  adstipulante  Joanne  Ja-» 
c.obo  Wetstenio,  juxta  Sectiones  Jo.  Alberti  Bengelii  di* 
visum;  et  nova  Interpunctione  seepius  illustratum.     Ac« 
cessere  in  altero  Volumine  Emendationes  conjecturales  vi-. 
rorum  doctorum  undecunque  collects^."     This  sold  with, 
great  rapidity ;  though  Mr.  Bowyer,  in  his  advertisements 
of  it  in  the  public  papers,  was  pleased  to  add,  that  it 
boasted  neither  elegance  of  type  nor  paper,  but  trusted  to 
other  merits.     The  conjectural  emendations  are  a  very 
valuable  addition  to  the  Greek  Testament,  and  were  ex-- 
tremely  well  received  by  the  learned.  In  a  letter  of  thanks^ 
from  the  president  and  fellows  of  Harvard  college,  in  Cam* 
'  bridge,  New-England,  to  Mr.  Bowyer,  in  1767,  for  seve- 
ral benefactions  of  his  to  that  college,  they  express  them- 
selves as  follows :  ^^  It  is  a  particular  pleasure  to  us  to 
mention  your  very  curious  edition  of  me  Greek  Testa-- . 
ment,  in  two  volumes,  with. critical  notes,  and  many  happy 
conjectures,  especially  as  to  the  punctuation,  an  afiair  of 
the  iitmost  importance  as  to  ascertaining  the  sense.     This 
work,  though  small  in  bulk,  we  esteem  as  a  rich  treasurer 
pf  sacred  learning,  and  of  more  intrinsic  value  than  many, 
large  volumes  of  the  commentators.'^     A  second  edition  of 
^he  Conjectures  on  the  New  Testament,  with  very  consi- 
derable enlargements,  was .  separately  published,  in  one 
volume,  8vo,  in  1772,  a  third  in  4to,   1782,  and  a  fourth 
from  the  interleaved  copy  of  Dr.  Owen,  which  he   be- 
queathed to  the  honourable  and  right  reverend  Dr.  Shute 
Sarrington,  bishop  of  Durham,  is  just  published  (1812). 


B  6  W  X  *^  R.  S75 

Bisbop  Warburton  having  censured  apassage  in  the  first  edi- 
tion, Mt.  Bowyer  sent  him  a  copy  of  the  second,  with  a  con- 
ciliatory letter.     In  1765,  at  the  request  of  Thomas  HoUis, 
esq.  our  learned  printer  wrote  a  short  Latin  preface  to  Dr. 
Wallis's  "  Grammatica  Linguae  AngUcanae.**  A  larger  Eng- 
lish preface,  which  was  written  by  him,  and  intended  for 
that  work,  is  printed  in  his  "  Tracts."     Some  copies  of  thia 
book  were  sent  by  him  to  the  rev.  Edward  Clarke,  whea 
chaplain  to  the  earl  of  Bristol  at  Madrid,  to  be  given  to  the 
Spanish  literati.     Towards  the  latter  end  of  the  same  year, 
in  consequence  of  overtures  from  a  few  respectable  friends 
at  Cambridge,  Mr.  Bowyer  had  some  inclination  to  have 
undertaken  the  management  of  the  University  press,  by 
purchasing  a  lease  of  its  exclusive  privileges.     He  went^ 
accordingly,  to  Cambridge  for  this  purpose  ;  but  the  treaty 
proved  fruitless^  and  he  did  not  much  regret  the  disappoint- 
ment.    In  the  beginning  of  1766,  by  engaging  in  a  part- 
nership with  Mr.  Nichols,  h6  was  again  enabled  to  with- 
draw,  in  some  degree,  from  that  close  application,  which 
had  begun  to  be  prejudicial  to  his  health*     His  new  asso- 
ciate had  been  trained  by  him  to  the  profession,  and  had 
assisted  him  several  years  in  the  management  of  busi- 
ness.    He  was  very  happy  in  this  connection ;  and  it  is  un« 
necessary  to  add  how  successfully  Mr.  Nichols  has  trod  in 
the  steps  of  his  worthy  and  learned  friend  and  partner.     la 
that  year  (1766)  Mr.  Bowyer  wrote  an  excellent  Latin  pre- 
face to  ^*  Joannid  Harduini,  Jesuitee,  ad  Censuram  Scrip- 
torum  veterudi  l^rolegomena ;  juxta  Autographuixi.^'     la 
this  preface  he  gives  an  account  of  the  nature  of  the  work, 
and  of  the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  preserved.     Mr.  D^ 
Missy's  remarks  on  the  celebrated  Jesuit^s  extraordinary  pro- 
duction were  published  about  the  same  time^  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Bowyer,  written  in  Latin.     In  1767,  he  was  appointed 
to  print  the  Journals  of  the  House  of  Lords,  and  the  Rolls 
of  Parliament.     The  noble  peer  to  whom  he  was  indebted 
for  this  appointment,  arid  his  gratitude  to  whom  is  testified 
in  the  inscription  which  he  left  behind  him,  to  be  placed  in 
Stationers  Hall,  was  the  earl  of  Marchmont.     Mh  Bowyer 
was  now  compelled,  from  the  want  of  sufficient  room,  to 
exchange  White  Fryars  for  Red  Lion-passage ;  and  it  was 
not  without  reluctance  that  he  quitted  a  residence  to  which 
he  had  been  acchstomed  from  his  infancy.     His  new  print- 
ing-house was  opened  with  the  sign  of  his  favourite  Cicero's 
Head :  under  which  was  inscribed,  «  m,  t.  cjcero,  a  qu^ 

T  2 


27<5  B  O  W  Y  E  R. 

IPRIM'ORDIA  PRELI,"  in  allusion  to  the  welUknown  early  edi- 
tions of  Tully's  Offices.  Having  printed  this  year  Mr. 
Clarke's  excellent  and  learned  work  on  **The  Connexion 
of  the  Roman,  Saxon,  and  English  Coins,"  he  wrote  some 
notes  upon  it,  which  are  interspersed  throughout  the  vo- 
lume with  those  of  the  author.  Part  of  the  dissertation  on 
the  Roman  Sesterce  was,  likewise,  Mr.  Bowyer's  produc- 
tion ;  and  the  index,  which  is  an  uncommonly  good  one, 
6nd  on  which  he  did  nqt  a  little  pride  himself,  was  drawn  up 
entirely  by  him.  On  the  14th  of  January,  1771,  he  lost 
his  second  wife,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventy.  His  old 
friend,  Mr.  Clarke,  who  had  administered  consolation  to 
him,  on  a  similar  occasion,  nearly  forty  years  before,  again 
addressed  him  with  tenderness  on  this  event.  In  the  Philo- 
sophical Transactions  for  1771,  was  printed  a  very  inge- 
nious "  Enquiry  into  the  value  of  the  antient  Greek  and  Ro- 
man Money,"  by  the  late  Matthew  Raper,  esq.  The  opi- 
nions advanced  by  this  respectable  gentleman,  on  these 
subjects,  not  coinciding  with  those  of  Mr.  Bowyer,  he 
printed  a  small  pamphlet,  entitled,  *^  Remarks,  occasioned 
by  a  late  Dissertation  on  the  Greek  and  Roman  Mo- 
ney." The  pamphlet  was  intended  as  an  appendix 
to  Mr.  Clarke's  Treatise  on  Coins.  The  opinions  of  many 
excellent  writers  in  Germany  and  France  having  been  ably 
controverted  in  that  elaborate  work,  Mr.  Bowyer  transmitted 
a  copy  of  it  to  the  French  king's  library,  and  inscribed  his 
little  appendix, 

**  Reoi  Chxistiakissimo 

GULIELMVS  BOWYEB^  TyFOGRAPHUS  AngLICANUS. 

**  Judicium  ut  subeat  magis  sequum  candidiusve> 
Qai  poni  potuit  commodiore  loco  }*' 

He  was  very  desirous  that  Mr.  Clarke's  book  should  be 
translated  and  reprinted  in  France  ;  and  he  took  some  pains, 
though  without  success,  to  get  it  accomplished.  In  1773, 
three  little  tracts  were  published  by  him,  under  the  title  of 
"  Select  Discourses  :  1.  Of  the  Correspondence  of  the  He» 
brew  months  with  the  Julian,  from  the  Latin  of  Professor 
Michaelis.  2.  Of  the  Sabbatical  years,  from  the  same.  3. 
Of  the  years  of  Jubilee ;  from  an  anonymous  writer,  in 
Masson's  Histoire  Critique  de  la  Republique  des  Lettres.'* 
In  1774,  he  corrected  a  new  edition  of  Schrevelius's  Greek 
Lexicon,  to  which  he  added  a  number  of  words  (dis- 
tinguished by  an  asterisk)  he  had  himself  collected  in  the 
course  of  his  own  studies.     Considerable  additions^  which 


fl  P  W  Y  E  R.  277 

are  strll  in  maimscript^  were  made  by  him  to  the  Lexicons 
of  Hederic  and  of  Buxtorf,  the  Latin  ones  of  Faber  and  of 
Littleton,  and  the  English  Dictionary  of  Bailey  ;  and  he 
left  behind  him  many  other  proofs  of  his  critical  skill  in  the 
learned  languages.  His  Greek  and  Latin  grammars  in  ge« 
neral  are  filled  with  such  curious  explanatory  notes,  asf 
bear  the  most  convincing  proofs  of.  consummate  critical 
knowledge  in  those  languages,  and  that  knowledge  he  ap- 
plied particularly  to  the  advancement  of  sacred  learning. 
It  was  his  constant  custom,  in  the  course  of  his  read- 
ing, to  note  down  every  thing  which  he  thought  might 
contribute  to  illustrate  any  passage  of  Scripture,  espe- 
cially of  the  Greek  Testament,  In  pursuance  of  this 
method,  it  is  hardly  to  be  coqceived  what  a  number  of  use- 
ful and  curious  remarks  stand  inserted  in  the  margins  of 
bis  theological  books,  which  may  greatly  contribute  to  im- 
prove future  editions.  In  1774,  was  pubhshed  "The  Ori- 
gin of  Printing,  in  two  essays.  1.  The  substance  of  Dr. 
Middletoo's  Dissertation  on  the  Origin  of  Printing  in  Eng- 
land. 2.  Mr.  Meermau's  Account  of  the  Invention  of  the 
Art  at  Harlem,  and  its  progress  to  Mentz,  with  occasional 
remarks  ;  and  an  app"fendix."  (See  Richard  Atkins.)  The 
original  idea  of  it  was  Mr.  Bowyer's;  but  it  was  completed 
by  Mr,  Nichols.  The  two  learned  friends,  whose  assistance 
is  acknowledged  in  the  preface,  were  the  rev.  Dr.  Henry 
Owen,  and  the  late  Mr.  Caesar  de  Missy.  Tliough  this 
work  appeared  without  a  name,  it  was  immediately  judged 
to  be  Mr.  Bowyer's,  and  was  well  received  in  the  world  of 
letters,  and  justly  spoken  of  in  terms  of  great  commenda- 
tion, both  at  home  and  abroad.  A  second  edition,,  with 
very  considerable  improvements,  was  published  in  1776, 
and  a  Supplement  in  1781.  When  Mr.  Nichols  was  engaged 
in  printing  the  "  Original  Works  of  Dr.  King  of  the  Com- 
mons," and  the  *'  Supplement  to  Swift,*'  Mr.  Bowyer,  by 
suggesting  useful  hints,  and  adding  some  illustrations,  as- 
sisted him  in  both  these  undertakings.  Our  eminent  printer 
now  drew  to  the  end  of  his  literary  career,  which  he  closed 
with  a  new  edition,  in  1777,  of  Dr.  Bentley's  "Disserta- 
tion on  the  Epistles  of  Phalaris."  Dr.  Bentley  was  a  writer 
whom  he  had  always  held  in  the  highest  estimation.  In  the 
republication  of  this  great  critic's  Dissertation,  Mr.  Bowyer 
inserted  the  remarks  which  had  occurred  to  him  in  the 
course  of  many  years  attention  to  the  subjects  there  treated 
of;  an4  ^scribed  theopi  to  the  respegtiv^  authors  from  whose 


278  B  O  W  y  E  R. 

books  or  personal  communication  they  were  selected.  H« 
wias  touch  indebted,  on  this  occasion,  to  the  friendly  Assist- 
toceof  Dr.  Salter  and  Dr.  Qwen, 

Mr.  Bowyer  had  always  been  subject  to  a  bilious  colic ; 
and  during  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life,  he  was  afflicted 
with  the  pally  and  the  stpne.  But,  notwithstanding  tfaese 
xn(irmitie9,  he  preserved,  in  general,  a  remarkable  cheer- 
fulness of  disposition ;  and  received  great  satisfaction  from 
the  conyer^tion  of  ^  few  literary  friends,  by  whom  he  con- 
tinued to  be  visited.  The  faculties  of  his  mind,  though 
somewhat  impaired,  were  strong  enough  to  support  the  la- 
bour of  almost  incessant  reading,  whiqh  l^ad  ever  been  his 
}>rincipal  amusement  j  and  he  regularly  corrected  the 
earned  works,  and  especially  the  Greek  books,  which  came 
from  his  press.  This  he  did  till  within  a  very  few  weeks  of 
his  death;  which  happened  on  the  18th  of  November, 
1777,  when  he  had  nearly  completed  his  78th  year.  The 
publications  of  Mr.  Bowyer  are  an  incontrovertible  evidence 
of  his  abilities  and  learning ;  to  which  may  be  added  that 
he  was  honoured  with  the  friendship  and  patronage  of  many 
of  the  most  distinguished  ornaments  of  his  age.  We  al- 
ready have  had  occasion  to  mention  the  earls  of  Maccles- 
field and  Marchmont^  Dr.  Wottpn,  Mr.  Pope,  Mr.  ChishuII^ 
Mr.  Clarke,  Mr.  Markland,  bishop  Wafburton^  the  right 
honourably  Arthur  Onslow,  Mr.  HoUis,  Dr.  Salter,  Mr. 
De  Missy,  Dr.  Owen,  and  Dr.  Heberden.  To  these,  among 
other  respectable  names,  might  be  added  those  of  archbi- 
shop Seeker,  bishop  Kennett^  bishop  Tanner,  bishop  Sher- 
lock, bishop  Hoadly^  bishop  Lyttelton,  bishop  Pearce,  bi- 
shop Low^h,  bishop  Barrington,  bishop  Hurd,  bishop 
Percy,  lorfi  Lyttelton,  lord  Sandys,  dean  Prideaux,  doctors 
Robert  and  John  Freind,  deitn  ^reind,  dean  Miiles,  the  very 
learned  Dr.  Taylqr,  chf^ncellor  of  Lincoln,  Dr.  Barnard,  Dr. 
Powell,  Dr.  \yilkins,  Mr.  Maittaire,  Messrs.  R.  and  S. 
Gale,  Mr.  Browne  Willis,  Mr.  Spelman,  Mr.  Morant,  Dr. 
Ducarel,  Dir.  Pegge,  Mr.  Garrick,  s^nd'mostof  the  distin- 
guished scholars  and  antiquaries  of  his  time.  His  connec- 
tion with  the  late  eminent  and  excellent  Richard  Gough, 
esq.  so  well  known  by  bis  acquaintance  with  British  topo- 
graphy and  antiquities,  is  apparent  from  his  last  will; 
where  his  obligations  to  Dr.  Jenkin,  dean  Stanhope,  and 
Mr.  Nelson,  are  acknowledged.  The  late  excellent  Dr. 
Robert  Clayton,  bishop  of  Clogher,  so  highly  esteemed  hia 
friendship,  that  be  not  only  honoured  him  by  l^  regular  ep1»% 


B  O.  W  Y  E  B. 


«7t 


telary  intercoursei  but  presented  bim  with  the  copy^right 
of  all  his  valuable  writings.     Mr,  Bowyer  stood  unrivalled^ 
for  more  than  half  a  century,  as  a  learned  printer ;  and 
"some  of  the  most  easterly  productions  of  this  kingdom  have 
undoubtedly  appeared  from  his  press.    To  his  literary  and 
professional  abilities,  he  added  an  excellent  moral  character. 
His  regard  to  religion  was  displayed  in  his  publications,  and 
in  the  course  of  his  life  and  studies ;  and  he  was  particularly 
distinguished  by  bis  inflexible  probity,  and  an  uncommon 
alacrity  in  assisting  the  necessitous.    His  liberality  in  reliev** 
ing  every  species^of  distress,  and  bis  endeavours  to  conceal 
his   benefactions,    reflect  great  honour  on  his   memory.. 
Though  he  was  naturally  fond  of  retirement,  an<^  seldom 
.entered  into  company,  excepting  with  men  of  letters,  he 
was,  perhaps,  excelled  by  few  in  the  talent  of  justly  discri- 
minating the  real  characters  of  mankind.,    He  judged  of  the 
persons  he  saw  by  a  sort  of  intuition;  and  his  judgments 
were  generally  right     From  a  consciousness  of  literary  su-^ 
periority,  he  did  not  always  pay  that  particular  attention  to 
the  booksellers  which  was  expedient  in  the  way  of  his  busi- 
ness.   Too  proud  to  solicit  the  favours  in  that  way  which  he 
believed  to  be  his  due,  he  was  often  disappointed  in  his  ex- 
pectations.    On  the  other  hand,  he  frequently  experienced 
friendships  in  cases  where  he  bad  ftiuch  less  reason  to  have 
hoped  for  them ;  so  that,  agreeably  to  his  own  expression, 
^^  in  what  he  had  receivedi  and  what  he  had  been  denied, 
he  thankfully  acknowledged  the  will  of  Heaven."    The  two 
great  objects  of  Mr.  Bowyer^^s  view,  in  the  decline  of  his 
life,  were  to  repay  the  benefaictions  bis  father'  bad  met 
with,  and  to  be  himself  a  benefactor  to'tbe  meritorious  of 
)iis  own  profession.     These  purposes  are  fuUy  displayed  in 
his  last  will :.  for  which  reason,  and  because  it  illustrates 
the  turn  of  his  mind  in  other  respects,  w^  shall  insert  it  at 
large.    After  a  liberal  provision  for  his  son,  a^iong  other 
legacies  are  these :  ^^  I  likewise  give  to  my  son  all  my  plate ; 
except  the  small  silver  cup  which  was  given  to  my  father 
(after  his  loss  by  fire)  by  Mrs.  James^  and  which  I  give  to 
the  Company  of  Stationers  in  London,  hoping  they  will 
preserve  it  as  a  memorial.     Having  committed  my  body  to 
the  earth,  I  would  testify  my  duty  and  gratitude  to  my  few 
relations  and  numerous  benefactors  after  my  fatber^s  loss  by 
fire.     I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  cousin  Scott,  lately  of 
Westminster,  brewer,  and  to  his  sister,  fifty  pouiids  each^ 
I  give  ^d  bequeath  to  my  relations  I^r.  Thomas  l«inley  aa^Jl 


«80  B  0  W  Y  E  R. 

bis  wife  one  thousand  pou  nds  four  percent,  consolidated  annu- 
ities, to  be  transferred  to  them,  or  to  the  survivor  of  them ; 
and  which  I  hope  they  will  take  care  to.  settle,,  at  their 
deaths,  for  the  benefit  of  their  son  and  daughter.  I  give 
to  the  two  sons  and  one  daughter  of  the  late  reverend  Mr. 
Maurice  of  Gothenburgh  in  Sweden,  who  married  the  only 
daughter  of  Mr.  Richard  WilUanison,  book<sellor  (in  return 
for  her  father's  friendship  to  mine),  one  thousand  pounds 
four  per  cent,  consolidated  annuities,  to  be  divided  equally 
between  them.  Among  my  father^s  numerous  benefactors^ 
there  is  not,  that  I  can  hear  of,  one  alive:  to  several  of 
them  I  made  an  acknowledgement.  But  one  respectable 
body  I  am  still  indebted  to,  the  University  of  Cambridge  ; 
to  whom  I  give,  or  rather  restore,  the  sum  of  fifty  pounds, 
in  return  for  the  donation  of  forty  pounds  made  to  my  father 
at  the  motion  of  jthe  learned  and  pious  master  of  Saint  John's 
college,  doctor  Robert  Jenkin:  to  a  nephew  of  his  I  have 
already  given  another  fifty  pounds,  as  appears  by  his  receipt 
of  the  thirty-first  of  May,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy.  The  benefactions  which  my  father  received  from 
Oxford  I  can  only  repay  with  gratitude ;  as  he  received 
them,  not  from  the  university  as  a  body,  but  from  particu- 
lar members.  I  give  thirty  pounds  to  the  dean  and  chapter 
of  Canterbury,  in  gratitude  for  the  kindness  of  the  worthy 
doctor  Stanhope  (sometime  dean  of  Canterbury)  to  my  fa- 
ther ;  the  remembrance  of  which  amongst  the  proprietors  of 
his  works  I  have  long  out-lived,  as  I  have  experienced  by  not 
being  employed  to  print  them:  the  like  I  might  say  of  the 
works  of  Mr.  Nelson,  another  respectable  friend  and  patron  of 
my  father's,  and  of  many  others.  I  give  to  doctor  William 
Heberden  my  little  cabinet  of , coins,  with  Hickes's  Thesaurus, 
Tristan,  and  the  odd  volume,  Spanheim's  Numismata,  Har- 
duin's  Opera  Selecta,  in  folio,  Nummi  Populorum  et  Ur« 
fcium,  in  quarto,  and  any  other  of  my  books  he  chooses  to 
accept :  to  the  reverend  doctor  Henry  Owen,  such  of  my 
Hebrew  books  and  critical  books  on  the  New  Testament, 
as  he  pleases  to  take  :  to  Richard  Gough,  esq.  in  like  man- 
ner, my  books  on  topographical  subjects:  to  Mr.  John 
Nichols,  all  books  that  relate  to  Cicero,  Livy,and  the  Roman 
history,  particularly  the  *  Cenotaphia'  of  Noris  and  Pig- 
hius^  my  grammars  and  dictionaries,  with  Swift's  and 
Pope's  works :  to  my  son,  whatever  books  (not  described 
above)  he  thiuks  proper  to  take. — ^And  now  I  hope  I  may 
^e  allowed  to  leave  somewhat  for  the.  benefit  of  printing. 


J 


B  O  W  Y  E  R;  231 

To  this  end^  I  give  to  the  master  and  keepers  or  wardens 
«nd  commonalty  of  tbe  mystery  or  arc  of  a  stationer  of  the 
£ity  of  London,  such  a  sum  of  money  as  will  purchase  two 
thousand  pounds  three  per  cent,  reduced  Bank  annuities, 
upon  trust,  to  pay  the  dividends  and  yearly  produce  thereof, 
to  be  divided  for  ever  equally  amongst  three  printers,  com- 
positors or  pressmen,  to  be  elected  from  time  to  time  by 
the  master,  wardens,  and  assistants,  of  the  said  company, 
and  who  at  the  time  of  such  election  shall  be  sixty-three 
years  old  or  upwards,  for  their  respective  lives,  to  be  paid 
half-yearly;  hoping  that  such  as  shalt  be  most  deserving 
will  be  preferred.  And  whereas  I  have  herein  before  given 
to  my  son  the  sum  of  three  thousand  pounds  four  per  cent, 
^consolidated  annuities,  in  case  he  marries  with  the  consent 
of  aiy  executors :  Now,  I  do  hereby  give  and  bequeath  the 
dividends  and  interest  of  that  sum,  till  such  marriao^e  takes 
place,  to  the  said  company  of  stationers  to  be  divided 
equally  between  six  other  printers,  compositors  or  press- 
meUj  as  aforesaid,  in  manner  as  aforesaid ;  and,  if  my  said 
son  shall  die  unmarried,  or  married  without  such  consent  as 
aforesaid,  then  I  give  and  bequeath  the  said  capital  sum  of 
three  thousand  pounds  to  the  company  of  stationers,  the 
dividends  and  yearly  produce  thereof  to  be  divided  for  ever 
equally  amongst  six  other  such  old  printers,  compositors  or 
pressmen,  for  their  respective  lives,  to  be  qualified,  chosen, 
and  paid  in  manner  as  aforesaid.  It  has  long  been  to  me 
matter  of  concern,  that  such  numbers  are  put  apprentices 
as  compositors  without  any  share  of  school-learning,  who 
ought  to  have  the  greatest :  in  hopes  of  remedying  this, 
I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  said  company  of  stationers  such 
a  sum  of  money  as  will  purchase  one  thousand  pounds  three 
per  cent,  reduced  bank  annuities,  for  the  use  of  one  journey- 
man compositor,  such  as  shall  hereafter  be  described  ;  with 
this  special  trust,  that  the  master,  wardens,  and  assistants, 
shall  pay  the  dividends  and  produce  thereof  half-yearly  to 
such  compositor  :  the  said  master,  wardens,  and  assistants 
of  the  said  company,  shall  nominate  for  this  purpose  a  com- 
positor who  is  a  man  of  good  life  and  conversation,  who  shall 
usually  frequent  some  place  of  public  worship  every  Sun- 
day unless  prevented  by  sickness,  and  shall  not  have  worked 
on  a  newspaper  or  magazine  for  four  years  at  least  before 
such  nomination,  nor  shall  ever  afterwards  whilst  he  holds 
this  annuity,  which  may  be  for  life,  if  he  continues  a  jour- 
Deyoian:  he  shall  be  abiie  to  read  aud  construe  Latin,  and  at 


^82  B  O  W  V  E  Rk 

least  to  read  Greek  fluently  with  accents ;  of  which  he  shall 
bring  a  testimonial  from  the  rector  of  St.  Martin's  Ludgate 
for  the  time  being :  1  could  wish  that  he  shall  have  been 
brought  up  piously  and  virtuously,  if  it  be  possible,  at  Mer* 
chant  Taylors,  or  some  other  public  school,  from  seven 
years  of  age  till  he  is  full  seventeen,  and  then  to  serve  se-* 
ven  years  faithfully  as  a  compositor,  and  work  seven  yean 
more  as  a  journeyman,  as  I  would  not  have  this  annuity  be* 
stowed  on  any  one  under  thirty -one  years  of  age  :  if  after 
he  is  chosen  he  should  behave  ill,  let  him  be  turned  out, 
and  another  be  chosen  in  his  stead.  And  whereas  it  may 
be  many  years  before  a  compositor  may  be  found  that  shall 
exactly  answer  the  above  description,  and  it  may  at  some 
times  happen  that  such  a  one  cannot  be  found;  I  would 
have  the  dividends  in  the  mean  time  applied  to  such  |>erson 
as  the  master,  wardens,  and  assistants,  shall  think  approaches 
nearest  to  what  I  have  described.  And  whereas  the  above 
trusts  will  occasion  some  trouble :  I  give  to  the  said  com« 
pany,  in  case  they  think  proper  to  accept  the  trusts^  two 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds.**  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  add, 
that  the  trust  was  accepted,  and  is  properly  executed. 

Mr.  Bowyer,  agreeably  to  his  own  directiob,  was  buried 
at  Low  Leyton  in  Essex,  where  a  neat  monument  is  erected 
in  the  church  to  his  father^s  memory  and  his  own,  with  a 
Latin  inscription  written  by  himself.  A  bust  of  him  is 
placed  in  Stationers'  Hall,  with  a  good  portrait  of  his  fa- 
ther, and  another  of  his  patron  Mr.  Nelson ;  all  which,  with 
good  portraits  of  Steele  and  Prior,  were  presented  to  the 
Company  of  Stationers  by  Mr.  Nichols. 

Early  in  1778,  Mr.  Nichols  printed  twenty  copies  of 
some  short  *^  Biographical  Memoirs  of  Mr.  Bowyer,"  an  oo- 
tavo  pamphlet  of  fifty-two  pages,  which  were  given  in  pre-* 
sents  to  his  friends^  and  reprinted  in  the  Gent.  Mag.  vol. 
XLVin.  These  memoirs,  although  interesting  in  them- 
selves, were  not  sufficient  to  gratify  the  friends  and  eon* 
temporaries  of  Mr.  Bowyer,  who  foresaw  that,  with  continued 
industry  and  research,  Mr.  Nichols  mighterect  a  more  sump<» 
tuous  monument  to  the  memory  of  his  learned  predecessor. 
Accordingly  from  many  valuable  materials  in  bis  possession, 
and  the  aid  of  some  literary  friends,  he  produced  in  178^, 
in  a  handsome  quarto  volume,  closely  printed,  *<  Biographi- 
cal and  Literary  Anecdotes  of  William  Bowyer,  Printeiv 
F.  S.  A.  and  of  many  of  his  learned  friends,  containing. an 
incidental  view  of  the  progress  apd  advancement  of  liteja* 


B  O  W  Y  E  R.  23^ 

ture  in  this  kingdom  from  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury to  the  end  of  the  year  1 777."  The  importance  of  this 
work  was  soon  acknowledged  by  men  of  learning  and  curio- 
sity. It  contained  memoirs  of  several  liundreds  of  eminent 
scholars  who  had  been  unnoticed  or  imperfectly  noticed  in 
biographical  compilations^and  opened  so  many  new  and  rich 
sources  of  information  and  inquiry,  that  the  author  was  fur- 
ther urged  to  extend  his  labour^  and  improve  upon  his  own 
plan  so  as  to  include  a  larger  portion  of  literary  history, 
-With  this  view,  during  the  intervals  he  could  spare  from  an 
extensive  business,  and  the  publication  of  many  useful 
works,  among  which  bis  elaborate  *  History  of  Leicestershire* 
stands  prominent,  amidst  too  his  indefatigable  attention  to 
the  affairs  of  the  corporation  oi  London,  of  which  he  was 
ifor  many  years  a  distinguished  member,  he  was  enabled  in 
the  present  year  to  publish  a  new  edition  of  his  Memoirs  of 
Bowyer,  under  the  title  of  **  Literary  Anecdotes  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century;  comprizing  Biographical  Memoirs 
of  William  Bowyer,'*  &c.  extended  to  six  copious  and 
closely  printed  volumes  in  octavo,  illustrated  by  a  ^e* 
Ties  of  engraved  portraits.  Of  this  work  the  editor  of 
this  Dictionary,  or  of  any  compilation  of  the  kind,  cannot 
speak  without  gratitude.  It  will  appear,  indeed,  by  our 
references,  that  our  obligations  are  numerous  and  impor- 
tant, nor  should  we  be  content  with  this  brief  acknowledge 
ment,  but  from  a  motive  of  delicacy,  it  being  known  to 
our  readers  that  the  author  to  whom  we  are  so  much  indebted 
is  at  the  same  time  the  medium  of  conveying  our  praises  to 
the  public.  We  cannot  help  adding,  however,  that  where 
we  refer  to  Mr.  Nichols's  "  Anecdotes,"  we  wish  it  to  be  under- 
stood that  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  more  ample  information 
than  we  have  usually  extracted,  and  that  ho  book  has  perhaps 
^ver  been  published  in  this  or  any  country  by  which  lite- 
rary curiosity  is  so  much  excited,  or  so  pleasingly  gratified. 
BOXHORN  (Mark  Zuerius),  an  eminent  philologer, 
Historian,  and  antiquary,  born  Sept  12,  1612,  was  the  son 
of  James  Zuerius,  minister  at  Bergen-op-Zoom,  by  Anne 
Boxhorn,  the  daughter  of  Henry  Boxhorn,  a  minister  of 
*Breda,  originally  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  who  embracing  the 
reformed  religioi),  became  minister  firist  in  the  duchy  of 
Cleves,  then  at  Woorden  in  Holland,  and  lastly  at  Breda, 
which  place  he  left  in  1625  when  the  Spaniards  took  it,  and 
retired  to  Leyden  :  here  he  superintended  the  education  of 
bis  grandson,  the  subject  of  the  present  article,  who  lost 


484  B.D  X  H,0  R  N. 

bis  father  wh^n  only  six  j^vlts  old,  and  as  he  had  n6  male 
children,  gave  young  Zuerio?  bis. name  of  Boxhorn.  -Under 
his  tuition,  the  youth  nmde  great  progress  in  bis  .studies, 
and  in  1629  published  §ome.  good  poetry  on  the  taking  of 
Boisledoc,  and  some  othbr  victories  which  the  Dutch  bad 
gained.  This  was  when  he  was  only  seventeen  years  old, 
and  be  was  but  twenty  when  he  published  some  more  consi- 
derable works,  as  will  appear  in  our  list,  which  induced  the 
curators  of  the  university  of  Leyden  in  the  same  year,  1632, 
to  promote  him  to  the  professorship  of  eloquence.  His  re- 
putation extending,  chancellor  Oxeustiern,  the  Swedish 
ambassador,  made  him  great  offers  in  queen  Christina'^ 
name,  but  preferring  a  residence  in.  his  own  country,  he 
was  afterwards  appointed  professor  of  politics  and  history 
in  the  room  of  Daniel  Heinsius,  now  disabled  by  age.  For 
some  time  he  carried  on  a  controversy  with  Salmasius,  but 
they  were  afterwards  apparently  reconciled.  Besides  his 
numerous  works,  he  contributed  frequently  to  the  labours 
Qf  bis  learned  friends:  bis  career,  however,  was  short,  as 
be  died,  after  a  tedious  illness,  at  Leydeo,  Oct.  3,  1653,  at 
the  age  of  only  forty -one.  How  industriously  this  time  was 
employed  will  appear  from  the  following  list  of  his  publica- 
tions. I.  "Poemata,'*  1629,  12mo.  2.  "  Granatarum 
encomium,'*  Amsterdam,  1631,  4to.  3.  "Historiae  Au- 
gustsB  Scriptores,"  a  new  edition  with  bis  notes,  Leyden, 
1631,  4  vols.  12mo,  which  Harwood  calls  beautiful  but  in- 
correct.' 4.  "Theatrum,  sive  Descriptio  Comitatus  et  Ur- 
bium  HollandisB,^'  ibid.  1632,  4to.  and  translated  into  Ger- 
man the  same  year  by  Peter  Montanus.  5.  An  edition  of 
*^Plinii  Panegyricus,'*  Leyden,  1632  and  1648,  Amsterdam, 
1649,  L2mo.  6.  A  ni  mad  version  es  ad  Suetonium  TranquiU 
lum,"  Leyden,  1632  and  1645,  12mo.  7.  "  Poetse  Satirici 
minores,  cum  Commentariis,"  ibid.  1632,  8vo.  8.  "Res- 
.publica  Leodieusium/'  ibid.  1633,  24mo.  9.  "Apolo- 
gia pro  Navigationibus  Hollandorum,  adversus  Pontum 
Heuterum,"  ibid.  1633,  24mo,  and  reprinted  at  Lou- 
don, 1636,  8vo.  10.  "  Emblemata  Politica,  et  Disser«- 
tationes  Political,''  Amsterdam,  1634  and  1651,  12mo. 
11.  ^^Julii  Csesaris  Opera,  cum  commentariis  variorum,'* 
ibid.  1634,  fol.  12.  "  Grammatica  regia,  &c.  pro  Chris- 
tina Suecorum  regina,"  Holm.  1635,  12mo,  Leyden,  1650. 
13.  "  Catonis  Distioha,  Gr.  Lat.  cum  Notis,"  Leyden, 
1635,  8vo.  14.  "  Orationes  duae  de  vera  Nobilitate  et  in- 
eptiis  saeculi,*'  ibid.  1635,  fol.  15.  ^H)ratio  inaugura^lis  de 
Biajestate    eloqueutiis  liomanse/'   ibid.    1636,    4to.      \§» 


»  O  X  H  O  R  If,  28« 

^*  Orationes  Tres,  de  theologia  paganorum,  fabuHs  poeta-* 
rum,  et  aninmrum  immortalitate,''  ibid.  1636,  4to.  17. 
^*  Oratio  funebris  in  obitum  Dominici  Molini,"  ibid.  1636, 
fol.  1 8.  "  Character  capsarum  Patroni,"  ibid.  1637,  4to.  1 9. 
"  Character  Amoris,"  ibid.  1637,  4to.  20.  "  Panegyricus 
Principi  Fred.  Henrico,  post  Bredam  oppugnatam  dictus,'* 
Leyden,  1637,  fol.  21.  **  QusBstiones  Romanae,  cum  Plu- 
tarchi  quoBtionibus  Romanis,  commentario  uberrimo  expli* 
catis,'*  ibid.  1637,  4to,  and  reprinted  in  Graevius,  vol.  V, 
22.  **  Monunienta  illustrium  virorum  aeri  incisa  et  elogia/* 
>bid.  1633,  fol.  23.  "Justinus,  cum  iiotis,'*  Amsterdam, 
1638.  24.  "  Panegyricus  in  classem  Hispanorum  profli- 
gatam,"  Leyden,  1639,  fol.  25.  *^  Oratio  de  Somniis/' 
ibid.  1639,  4to.  26.  "  Historia  obsidionis  Bredanae, 
&c.''  ibid.  1640,  fol.  27.  "  De  Typographicae  artis  in- 
ventione  et  inventoribus,  Dissertatio,"  ibid.  1640,  4t(>. 
In  this  he  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  art  of  printing 
was  first  discovered  at  Haerlem,  and  not  at  Mentz,  as  he  first 
supposed.  28.  "  Dissertatio  de  Trapezitis,  vulgo  Longo-^ 
bardis,"  ibid.  1640,  8vo,  and  Groningen,  1658,  4to.  29. 
**  Panegyricus  in  Nuptias  principis  Arausionensium  Guli- 
elmi,  et  Marise,  Britanniae  regis  fiiiae,''  Leyden,  1641,  foL 
30.  "Oratio  in  excessum  Cornelii  Vander  Myle,"  ibid. 
1642,  fol.  31.  "  Oratio  qua  Ser.  Henricae  Mariae,  rai^gnae 
Britanniae  reginae  urbem  Leydensem*  subeuntis  adventum 
veneratur,"  ibid.  1642,  fol.  This  compliment  to  our  exiled 
queen,  and  a  subsequent  publication,  Bayle  inforais  us, 
was  disliked  by  some  republicans.  32.  "  Oratio  in  exces- 
sum principis  Const.  Alexandri,"  ibid.  1642,  fol.  33. 
"  Commentarius  in  vitam  Agricolae  Corn.  Taciti,"  ibid. 
1642,  12mo,  and  an  Apology  for  this  edition,  *'adversu» 
Dialogistam,'*  Amsterdam,  1643,  12mo.  34.  "  Animad- 
versiones  in  Corn.  Tacitum,  Amsterdam,"  1643,  and  oftea 
reprinted.  35.  The  Belgic  History  to  the  time  of  Charles 
V.  in  Dutch,  Leyden,  1644,  1649,  4to.  36.  «  Chronicon 
Zelandiae,"  Middleburgh,  1644,  4to.  37.  On  the  worship 
of  the  goddess  Nehalennia,  in  Dutch,  Leyden,  1647,  4to. 
38.  "  Plinii  Epistolae  cum  ejus  Panegyrico,'*  ibid.  1648, 
and  Amsterdam,  1659,  12mo.  39.  "Dissertatio  de  Am- 
nestia,"  ibid.  1648,  12mo.  40.  "  Dissertatio  de  successione 
et  jure  primogenitorum,  in  adeundo  priricipatu,  ad  Carolum 
IL  MagnsB  Britanniae  regem,''  ibid,  1649,  4to.  41.  "  De 
Majestate  Regum,  Priqcipumque  liber  singularis,V  a  defence 
of  the  former,  ibid.  1 649, 4to.  42, "  Commentariolusde  Statu 


isa  B  Q  X  H  O  R  N. 

Fcederataruni  Provinciarum  Belgii,  Hague^  1 649.  Some 
oilence  taken  by  the  States  of  Holland  obliged  the  author  to 
alter  part  of  this  work  in  the  editidn  1650,  43.  "  Orati<> 
funebris  in  exeessum  Adriani  Falkoburgii  Med.  Doct.*'  Ley- 
den,  1650,  4te.  44.  **  Haymonis  Hist  ecclesiasticse  Brevia-» 
rium/^  ibid.  1650, 12mo.  45.  ^^  Disquisitiones  Politicse,  ex 
•mni  historia  selectae/'  Hague^  1654^  Erfidrt,  1664^  12itio. 
46.  ^^Dissertatio  de  GrsDcae,  Romans,  et  GermanicaB  Lingua- 
rum  hamionia/^  Leyden,  1650^  47.  "  Historia  Univer- 
salis Sacra  et  Profana  ai  nato  Christo  ad  annum  1650,'^  ibid. 
1651,  1652,  4to,  and  Leipsic,  1675,  4to.  Mencke,  the 
continuator,  speaks  of  this  as  an  excellent  account  of  the 
origin  and  rights  of  nations.  48.  ^  Orationes  varti  ai^- 
menti,"  Amst.  1651,  12mo.  49.  ^*  Oratio  in  exeessum 
Gul.  principis  Arausiee,  comitis  Nassoni,  Leyd.  1651,  foK 
5O4  ^*  Metamorphosis  Anglonim/'  Hague,  1653,  l2mo^ 
51.  ^*  Originum  Gallicarum  liber j^'  Amst.  1654,  4to.  This 
critical  history  of  ancient  Gaul  procured  him  much  repu- 
tation* He  was  employed  on  it  in  his  latter  days,  but  did 
not  live  to  publish  it.  The  following  are  also  posthumous : 
S2»  ^^  Ideae  orationum  i  selectiori  materia  moderni  statui» 
politic!   desumptie/'  Leyden,  1657,    ]2mo,  and   Leipsic^ 

1661,  12mo.  53.  *' Institutionum  seu  dbqutsitionum  Po- 
liticarum  Libri  Duo,'^  Leipsic,  1659,  Amst.  1663.  54. 
^<  Chronologia  sacra  et  prophana,^'  edited  by  Bosius, 
£rancf.   1660,    fol.     55^  *^  Epistolffi  et   Poemata,"   Amst. 

1662,  12mQ,  with  his  life  written  by  James  Baselius,  a  Cal- 
vinist  minister,  and  reprinted  at  Leipsic  in  1679,  with  a 
preface  by  Tbomasius.  56.  ^*  Dissertatio  de  Imperio  Ro- 
mano/^ Jena,  1664,  12mo.* 

BOYCE  (William),  an  eminent  English  musician,  cha* 
pel-master  and  organist  to  George  H.  and  ItL  was  the  son 
of  William  Boyce,  a  joiner  and  cabinet-maker,  and  house* 
keeper  of  Joiners'-hall,  where  our  musician  was  born,  Feb. 
7,  1710.  He  was  at  first  a  singing-boy  at  St.  PauPs,  and 
afterwards  apprenticed  to  the  celebrated  Dr.  Greene,  who 
bequeathed  to  him  his  manuscripts.  In  1734  he  was  a 
candidate  for  the  place  of  organist  of  St.  Michael's  church, 
Cornhill,  with  Froud,  Young,  James  Worgan,  and  Kelway ; 
but  though  unsuccessful  in  this  application,  Kelway  being 
elected,  he  was  appointed  the  same  year  to  the  place  of 
organist  of  Oxford  chapel ;  and  in  1736,  upon  the  death 

1  Gen.  Diet  yol.  X  art.  Zaeriu8.*^Foppeu  Bibl.  Belg^. — Saxii  Onomasticon. 


B  O  T  C  B.  287 

^{  Weldotii  when  Kelway  being  elected  organiist  of  St. 
Martin's  in  the  Fields,  resigned  his  place  at  St.  MichaeVs 
Conihill,  Boyce  was  not  only  elected  organist  of  that 
churchy  but  organist  and  composer  in  the  chapel  royaL 
The  same  year  he  set  David's  ^^  Lamentation  over  Saul  and 
Jonathan,'/  which  was  performed  at  the  Apollo  Society. 
About  the  year  1743,  he  produced  his  serenata  of  ^^  Solo^ 
mon,"  which  was  not  only  long  and  justly  admired  as  a 
pleasing  and  elegant  composition^  but  still  affords  great, 
delight  to  the  friends  of  English  music  whenever  it  is  per- 
formed. His  next  publication  was  ^^  Twelve  Sonatas  or 
Txios  for  two  violins  and  a  base/'  which  were  longer  and 
more  geaerally  purchased,  performed,  and  admired,  than 
any  productions  of  the  kind  in  this  kingdom,  except  those 
of  CorelU.  They  were  not  only  in  constant  use,  as  cham* 
ber  music,  in  private  concerts,  for  which  they  were  ori- 
ginally, designed,  but  in  our  theatres,  as  act-tunes,  and 
public  gardens,  as  favourite  pieces,  during  many  years. 

In  1749,  he  set  the  ode  written- by  the  rev.  Mr.  Mason^ 
for  the  installation  of  the  late  duke  of  Newcastle,  as  chan-^^ 
cellor  of  the  university  of  CaP^bridge,  at  which  time  be 
was  honoured  with  the  degree^f  doctor  in  music  by  that 
university.  Soon  after  this  eyent,  he  set  the  "  Chaplet,'* 
a  musical  drama,  written  by  the  late  Mr.  Mendez,  for 
Drury-lane  theatre,  which  had  a  very  favourable  reception, 
and  long  run,  and  continued  many  yjears  in  use.  Not  long 
after  the  first  performance  of  this  drama,  his  friend  Mr. 
Beard  brought  on  the  same  stage  the  secular  ode,  written 
by  Dryden,  and  originally  set  by  Dr.  Boyce  for  Hickford's 
room,  or  the  Castle  concert,  where  .it  was  first  performed, 
in  still  life.  This  piece,  though  less  successful  than  the 
Chaplet,  by  the  animated  performance  and  friendly  zeal 
of  Mr.  Beard,  was  many  times  exhibited  before  it  was 
wholly  laid  aside.  These,  coippositions,  with  occasional 
single  songs  for  Vauxhall  and  Ranelagh,  disseminated  the 
fame  of  Dr.  Boyce  throughout  the  kingdom,  as  a  dramatic 
and  miscellaneous  composer,  while  his  choral  compositions 
for  the  king's  chapel,  for  the  feast  of  the  sons  of  the  clergy 
at  St.  Paul's,  and  for  the  triennial  meetings  at  the  three 
cathedrals  of  Worcester,  Hereford,  and  Gloucestei^  at  the 
performances  in  all  which  places  he  constantly  presided 
1^11  the  time  of  his  death,  established  his  reputation  as  an 
ecclesiastical  composer,  and  able  master  of  harmony.  Dr. 
Boyce  was  one  of  thfe  few  of  our  church  composers,,  who 


28g  BOY  C  tf. 

neither  pillaged  or  servilely  imitated  Handel.    There  is  ai»* 
original  and  sterling  merit  in  his  productions)  founded  as  . 
much  on  the  study  of  our  own  old  masters,  as  on  the  best 
models  of  other  countries,  that  gives  to  all  bis  works  a  pe-- 
euliar  stamp  and  character  of  his  own,  for  strength,  clear* 
ness,  and  facility,  without  any  mixture  of  styles,  or  ex- 
traneous and  heterogeneous  ornaments.     On  the  decease  . 
of  Dr  Greene,  in  1757,  he  was  appointed  by  the  duke  of 
Devonshire,  master  of  the  king's  band ;  and,  in  1758,  on 
the  death  of  Travers,  organist  of  the  chapel-royal.     He 
published,  at  a  great  expence  to  himself,  three  volumes 
of  cathedral  music,  b6ing  a  collection  in  score  of  the  most 
valuable  compositions  for  that  service  by  the  several  Eng- 
lish masters  of  the  preceding  two  centuries,    which  wa»  • 
designed  to  have  been  published  by  Dr.  Greene :  and  in 
this  Dr.  Boyce  was  assisted  by  the  first  Dr.  Hayes,  of  Ox- 
ford, and  by  Dr.  Howard.     Dr.  Boyce  died,  of  repeated 
^attacks  of  the  gout,  Feb.  7,   1779,  and  was  interred  in  St* 
Paul's  cathedral.     An   anonymous  biographer   records  a  . 
very  singular  circumstance  in  Dr.  Boyce's  history,  oamely, 
that  he  was  from  his  youth  incurably  deaf. ' 

BOYD  (Hugh,  or  Hugh  Macauley),  a  writer  who 
would  scarcely  have  deserved  notice,  if  he  had  not  been 
obtruded  on  the  public  as  the  author  of  J unius's  Letters^ 
was  the  second  son  of  Alexander  Macauley,  esq.  of  the 
county  of  Antrim,  in  Ireland.  He  was  born  in  1746;  was 
educated  at  Trinity  college,  Dublin;  and  was  designed 
for  the  bar ;  but,  instead  of  prosecuting  his  original  views, 
came  over  to  London,  where,  under  the  patronage  of  Mr. 
Richard  Burke,  he  soon  became  known  both  in  the  literary 
and  faslxionable  world.  A  propensity  to  extravagance  had 
already  reduced  him  to  considerable  embarrassments, 
when,  in  1777,  he  married  a  lady  of  good  fortune;  but 
this  relief  was  only  teipporary;  for  the  same  expensive 
habits  still  continued,  and  at  length  obliged  him  to  ac-- 
company  lord  Macartney  to  Madras,  in  the  capacity  of  a 
second  secretary.  He  remained  there  after  bis  lordshipV 
return,  and  died  in  1791,  having  for  some  years  previously 
to  his  death,  held  the  lucrative  office  of  master  attendant, 
with  little  advantas:e  to  his  circumstances.  He  wrote  in 
Ireland,  a  political  periodical  paper,  called  ^^  The  Free-i 
holder,"    in    1772;    an   Introduction   to   lord   Chathain^» 

>  Barney '«  Hist,  of  Music,  toI.  2X1.--- Londm  Cbfowcle,  Feb.  18,  1779. 


b  O  Y  D.  Qi$ 

•^ecbe^  oti  the  American  war,  reported  and  published  bj 
him  ;  and  the  **  Whig/'  published  in  Almon's  newspaper^ 
the  London  Courant,  in  1780.     In  1794,  he  also  wrote  a 
few  periodical  essays  called  "  The  Indian  Observer,**  pub- 
lished at  Madras.    These  were  reprinted  in  an  8vo  volume* 
in  1798,  by  the  late  Mr.  Laurence  Dundas  Campbell,  with 
a  view  to  establish  an  assertion  which  Almon  first  made^ 
if  we  mistake  not,  purporting  that  A|r.  Boyd  was  the  au- 
thor of  Junius  ;  but  unfortunately  the  reader  has  ^^  the 
bane  aud  antidote*'  both  before  him  in  this  volume,  and 
few  attempts  of  the  kind  can  be  conceived  more  injudici- 
ous than  a  comparison  between  the  styles  of  Boyd  and  Ju- 
nius.    Boyd  wrote  after  Junius,  and,  like  most  political 
writers,  aims  at  his  style ;  and  the  only  conclusion  which 
his  friends  have  arrived  at  amounts  to  this  absurdity,  that 
an  imitator  must  be  an  original  writer ;  and  even  this  in  the 
case  of  Mr.  Boyd  is  peculiarly  unfortunate,  for  his  imita-^ 
tions  are  among  the  most  feeble  that  have  been  ever  at^** 
tempted. — ^Mr.  Campbell  returned  to  the  charge,  however, 
in  1 800,  with  a  publication  of  '^  The  miscellaneous  works 
of  Hugh  Boyd,  the  author  of  the  Letters  of  Junius  :  with 
an  account  of  his  Life  and  Writings,**  2  vols.  8vo.  ^ 

BOYD  (Maek  Alexander),  a  Scotch  writer  of  cousin 
derable  reputation  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  son  of 
Robert  Boyd,  of  Pinkill  in  Ayrshire,  was  born  Jan.  13^ 
1562.  Having  lost  his  father  early,  he  was  educated  undef 
the  inspection  of  his  uncle,  Mr.  James  Boyd,  of  Trochrig, 
who^  with  the  then  unpopular  title  of  ^^  Archbishop  of 
Olasgow,"  performed  the  offices  of  minister  of  the  Barony 
parish  in  that  city.  Young  Boyd,  in  his  nature  lively 
and  headstrong,  soon  grew  weary  of  academical  discipline^ 
quarreled  with  his  preceptors,  renounced  bis  studies,  and, 
eager  to  become  a  man  of  the  world,  presented  himself  at 
court.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  in  this  scheme  he  relied  chiefly 
on  the  patronage  of  Robert,  fourth  lord  Boyd,  who  was 
probably  the  cousin-german  of  Boyd*s  fiaither.  All,  bow- 
ever,  that  we  learn  of  his  proficiency  at  court  is,  that  he 
fought  one  duel,  and  was  engaged  in  numberless  broils* 
His  relations  advised  him  to  follow  the  profession  of  artxis 
in  the  Low  Countries,  for  they  could  not  moderate  his  im-» 
petuous  and  unruly  teniper,  and  perhaps  they  were  little 

1  The  above  publications.— Monthly  Review,  N.  S.  toL  XXVIl.  aocl  XXXiV. 
— <-See  also  another  advocate  for  Mr*  Boyd,  ifr  Mr.  G.  Chalmerses  "  A.  p«;iidix  tp 
ibe  Suppiemeotal  Apolofyi  9f,c.*^  1800. 

VOL.VL  U 


290  BOYD. 

inclined  or  little  able  to  support  bim  in  a  manner  of  life 
which  had  no  determined  object  or  aim.  Boyd  i^eadily 
consented  to  become  a  soldier ;  but  be  chose  France  rather 
than  the  Low  Countriesi  for  the  theatre  of  his  future 
acfaievements.  He  went  therefore  to  Paris,  furnished  with 
a  small  # tock  of  money,  all  of  which  be  soon  lost  at  dice. 
This  the  author  of  his  life  ascribes  to  some  secret  fate, 
**  occulto  veluti  fato  ;*'  but  says  his  more  recent  biogra- 
pher, lord  Hailes,  we  may  absolve/fl/^,  for  when  the  raw 
and  self-suf&cient  go  amongst  sharpers,  they  ought  to  as- 
cribe their  ruin  io folly, 

Boyd,  observing  that  young  pek'sons  of  quality,  and  even 
military  men,  were  wont  to  attend  academical  lectures 
at  Paris,  resumed  his  stuclies.  The  teachers  to  whom 
he  attached  himself  were,  J.  Marius  d'Amboise,  profes- 
sor of  philosophy ;  J.  Passerat,  professor  of  eloquence,  nut 
only  a  scholar,  but  a  wit  also,  and  a  poet;  and  Gilb.  Franc. 
Genebrand,  professor  of  the  Hebrew  language,  who  after- 
wards by  his  zeal  for  the  French  league,  tarnished  the  re- 
{>utation  that  he  had  gaiiied  by  his  literary  abilities.  Guil- 
onius  also  is  mentioned  amongst  the  professors  under 
'whom  Boyd  studied.  He  next  resolved  to  apply  himself 
to  the  civil  law,  and  went  to  the  university  of  Orleans, 
where  that  science  was  taught  by  J.  Robertus,  a  man  prin- 
cipally known  for  having  dared  to  become  the  rival  of  Cu- 
jacius.  But  he  soon  quitted  Orleans,  and  went  to  the 
university  of  Bourges.  Cujacius,  who  taught  the  civil 
law  there,  received  him  with  kindness,  and  possibly,  not 
with  the  less  kindness  because  bis  new  scholar  had  quitted 
Orleans  and  professor  Robertus.  It  was  said  that  Boyd  ob- 
tained the  friendship  of  Cujacius,  by  writing  some  verses 
in  the  obsolete  Latin  language.  Perhaps  that  learned  man 
liked  those  verses  best  which  approached  nearest  to  the 
standard  of  the  Twelve  Tables. 

While  at  Bourges,  however,  Boyd  applied  his  mind  to 
serious  study,  with  more  earnestness  than  could  have  been 
looked  for  from  a  person  of  his  age  and  desultory  temper. 
But  unfortunately  his  studies  were  interrupted,  not  by  the 
constitutional  fickleness  of  his  own  disposition,  but  by  a 
public  calamity.  The  plague  broke  out  at  Bourges,  and 
Boyd,  dreading  the  infection,  fled  to  Lyons,  and  on  its 
appearance  at  Lyons,  he  went  into  Italy.  There  he  be- 
came acquainted  with  a  person  whom  he  calls  Cornelius 
Varus,  but  having  been  seized  with  an  ague,  be  returned 


BOYD.  291 

to  L5^ons  for  change  of  air.  It  is  said  that  the  being  de^ 
prived  of  the  conversation  and  salutary  advices  ^  of  hi^ 
friend  Varus  was  the  only  regret  which  be  had  in  quitting 
Italy.  Varus  flattered  him  with  all  the  extravagancy  of 
Italian  hyperboles,  and  finding  that  Boyd  prided  himself 
on  the  excellence  of  his  Latin  poetry ^  addressed  some 
verses  to  him  in  which  he  asserts  that  Boyd  surpassed  Bu^^ 
chanan  and  all  other  Bi'itish  poets  in  a  greater  degree  than 
Virgil  surpassed  Lucretius,  Catullus,  and  all  other  Roman 
poets.  / 

In  1587,  a  numerous  army,  composed  of  mercenary 
Germans  and  Swiss,  invaded  France,  in  support  of  thtt 
king  of  Navarre.  Boyd  joined  the  troops  that  marched 
from  Auvergrie  to  reinforce  the  army  of  Henry  III.  His 
commander  was  a  Greek  by  birth,  an  officer  of  cavalry* 
Boyd  mentions  not  his  name ;  but  describes  him  as  one 
who,  with  the  specious  advantages  of  elocution,  and  a 
noble  figure,  was  volatile,  forward,  easily  provoked,  and 
of  ungovernable  passion.  The  temerity  of  this  commander 
exposed  his  soldiers  to  more  hazards  in  skirmishes  with 
the  peasants,  than  they  would  have  found  in  storming  of 
towns.  Boyd  received  a  shot  in  the  ancle,  and  this  is  a\\ 
we  know,  with  certainty,  of  his  niilitary  services. 

In  1588,  Boyd  fixed  his  residence  at  Toulouse,  and 
again  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  civil  law  under 
Fr.  Rouldes,  a  celebrated  professor.  It  appears  that, 
about  this  time,  he  wrote  some  tracts  on  that  science,  and 
projected  others;  and  that  he  even  had  it  in  view  to  com*- 
pose  a  system  of  the  law  of  nations.  Toulouse  having, 
about  this  time,,  by  means  of  a  popular  insurrection,  fallei\ 
into  the  hands  of  the  faction  of  the  league,  Boyd,  who  had 
assisted  the  royal  cause,  was  thrown  into  prison;  and^ 
from  the  hatred  of  the  Jesuits,  was  iii  great  danger  of  his 
life.  When  be  had  obtained  his  liberty,  which  was  granted 
him  at  the  solicitations  of  the  learned  men  of  Toulouse,  he 
went  first  to  Bourdeaux,  and  thence  to  Rochelle.  In  thi$ 
last  journey  he  was  attacked  by  robbers,  and  with  difficulty 
escaped  being  assassinated  by  them,  after  ha^yirxg  lost  all 
the  property  he  had  with  him.  Disliking  the  air  of  Ro-. 
ciielle,  he  retreated  to  the  borders  of  Poictou,  ^her^ 
he  enjoyed  an  agreeable  rural  retirement;  devoting  hi$ 
time  partly  to  polite  literature,  and  partly. ta  the  aid  of  big 
friends,  when  they  were  occasionally  exposed  to  the  incur^ 
*  »iqifi9  of  tb^  enemies.     He  so  equally  applied  himself  tt^ 

V  2 


ft92  6  O  Y  D. 

thm  study  of  learning  and  war,  that  it  was  not  ea^  to  say 
•ivliich  be  most  preferred ;  but  bis  character  appears  now  to 
luAre  been  more  decided  than  when  in  youth.  Among  men 
4d  tbe  sword  be  appeared  to  be  the  accomplished  soldier^ 
and  as  eminently  the  scholar  among  those  of  the  gowii. 
la  his  person  he  was  tall,  compact,  and  well  prop(5rt]oned  ; 
4iis  countenance  was  beautiful,  sprightly,  and  engaging ; 
jmd  there  was  a  singularly  tio\}le  air  in  his  discourse,  aspect^ 
voice,  and  gesture.  He  was  polite,  pleasant,  acute, 
courteous,  a  ready  speaker,  and  entirely  free  from  envy 
and  avaiice.  He  could  easily  bear  with  the  boasting  of 
die  ignorant,  but  extremely  disliked  the  abusive  manner 
of  writing  which  prevailed  so  much  among  the  learned  of 
his  time.  He  thought  it  unworthy  of  a  Christian,  in  a  li- 
terary controversy,  to  throw  out  any  thing,  either  in  speech 
or  writing,  which  should  hurt  the  reputation  of  an  adver- 
sary. In  injuries  of  an  atrocious  nature,  he  chose  to  do 
himself  justice  by  having  recourse  to  tbe  laws  of  arms. 
Among  the  ancients,  Xenophon  was  bis  favourite  as  a  pbi«« 
losopber,  Caesar  as  an  bistorianf,  and  Virgil  as  a  poet.  So 
admirably  was  he  skillied  in  the  Greek  language,  that  he 
eouid  write,  dictate,  and  converse  in  it,  with  copiousn^ 
and  elegance.  He  despised  the  centos,  which  were  then 
not  a  little  in  fashion  ;  and  said,  that  however  learned  th« 
authors  of  them  might  be,  they  were  dull  and  ignorant 
jnen.  Besides  his  epistles  after  the  manner  of  Ovid,  and 
bis  hymns,  he  wrote  a  variety  of  Latin  poems,  which  have 
■iiot  been  printed.  He  was  the  author  of  notes  upon  Pliny, 
and  published  an  excellent  little  book,  addressed  to  Lip* 
sius,  in  defence  of  cardinal  fiembo  and  the  ancient  elo- 
eiienoe.  He  translated,  likewise,  Caesar's  Commentaries. 
into  Greek,  in  tbe  style  of  Herodotus ;  but  would  not  per* 
mit  bis  translation  to  appear  in  public.  He  afterwards  aj)- 
/plied  himself  to  the  cultivation  of  poetry  in  his  native  Ian* 
guage^  and  arrived  at  considerable  excellence  in  it.  In  all 
his  eomponliionS)  genius  was  more  apparent  than  labour. 

.Boyd,  at  length,  returned  into  Scotland,  where  be  soon 
aftee  died,  «f,a  flow  fever,  in  April  1€01,  at  Pinkill, 
Ins  fadierV  seat,  in  the  5Sth  or  Sdth  year  of  bis  age ;  and 
«ns  'buried  with  bis  ancestors  in  the  church  ot  Daiie  or 
iDarile.. '  Among  tbe  manuscripts  which  he  left  behind  hiin, 
the  following  were  in  sir  Robert  Sibbald's  possession: 
^In  Instituttbnes  Istiperatorts  Commenta,''  1591,  folio. 
<^  L'Estat  du  Royauwe  4'£seoflse  i  present^'^  foK    <<  PoU« 


BOYD.  S9t 

fcicufl^    a4  Joannem    Metellanum,   cancellarium  Scdtiae.'^ 
,**  Scriptum  de  Jurisconsulto,  ad  Franciscum  BalduiniHn/' 
'*  Poeta,  ad  Cornelium  Varum  Florentinum,"     "  Poemala 
varia.'^     *'  Epistolse/'     But  of  these,  the  only  works  novr 
fenown  are  his  "  Epistolse  Hcroidum,"  and  his  "  Hjrmni/' 
These  are  inserted  in  the  "  Delitias  Poetarum  Scotoruai^*^ 
Anist.  1637,  in  two  volumes  12mo;  and  a  great  character 
has  beefi  given  of  them  by  several  authors.     His  biogra- 
pher questions  whether  lany  of  the  ancients  have  excelled 
|iim  in  elegiac  poetry,  and  is  positive  that  none  of  the 
Latins   have   equalled  his  hymns.     Olaus   Borrichius,  an 
eminent  critic,  in  his  *'  Dissertationes  Academics  de  Poe^ 
tis,*'  says,  ^^  In  Marco  Alexandro  Boclio,  Scoto,  redivivmn 
fipectamus  Nasonem ;  ea  est  in  ejusdeiii  Epistolis  Heroi* 
^um,  lux,  candor,  dexteritas.*'     The  same  critic  speaks  as 
)iighly   of  Boyd's  Hymns,  but  modern  taste  will  not  coin*^ 
cide  with  these  praises.     Boyd  undoubtedly  was  a  man  of 
genius  and  elegant  accomplishments,  yet  we  learn  this 
rather  from  his  history  than  his  writings.  ^ 
y.    BOYD    (Robert),  a  nobleman  of  Scotland,  of  whose 
/early  years  we  have  no  account,  began  to  make  a  figure  ia 
,  pubtip  life  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  James  II.  of 
Scotland.     Being  a  man  of  great  penetration  and  sound 
judgment,  courteous  and  affable,  he  acquired  the  esteem 
.  find  confidence  of  all  ranks  of  people,  as  well  as  of  bis 
prince,  who  created  him  a  baron  by  the  title  of  lord  Boyd, 
..pf  Kilmarnock.     In  1459,  he  was,  with  several  other  no- 
blemen, sent  to  Newcastle,  with  the  character  of  plenipo- 
tentiary, to  prolong  the  truce  with  England,  which  bad 
i*ust  then  expired.     On  the  death  of  James  II.  who  was 
illed  at  the  siege  of  Roxburgh,  lord  Boyd  was  made  jus- 
ticiary, and  one  of  the  lords  of  the  regency,  in  whose 
bands  the  administration  was  lodged  during  the  minority 
of  the  young  king.     His  lordship  had  a  younger  brother 
who  had  received  the  honour  of  knighthood,  tiiir  Alexander 
Boyd  of  Duncow,  a  man  in  great  credit  with  the  king, 
whom  he  was  appointed  to  teach  the  rudiments  of  military 
discipline ;   and   between   them,  the  two  brothers  found 
ineans  to  engross  most  of  the  places  and  preferments  about 
the  court.     Sir  Alexander  began  to  instil  into  the  yeutig 
king,  then  twelve  years  old,  that  he  was  now  capable^  of 
governing  without  the  help  of  guardians  and  tutors^  and 

l^  Sketch  of  the  life  of  Btfytt,  by  L6r<I  Hailes,  Edin.  Il%3,  8yo.— Biog,  Brit 


t94  BOY  D. 

that  he  might  free  himself  from  their  restraint     Thi«  ad- 
vice was  readily  listened  to,  and  the  king  resolved  to  take 
«pon  himself  the   government,  which,    however,  was  no 
other  than  transferring  the  whole  power,  from  the  other 
regents,  to  the  Boyds.     The  king  was  at  this  time  at  Lin- 
lithgow, and  it  was  necessary  to  remove  him  to  Edinburgh, 
to  take  iipan  him  the  regt^l  government,  which  the  Boyds 
effected,  partly  by  force,  and  partly  by  stratagem.     Hav- 
ing got  the  king  to  Edinburgh,  lord  Boyd  began  to  pro- 
vide for  his  own  safety,  and  to  avert  the  danger  which 
threatened  him  and  his  friends,  for  what  they  had  done  in 
the  face  of  an  act  of  parliament ;  and  accordingly  prevailed 
*ipon  the  king  to  call  a  parliament  at  Edinburgh,  in  Octo- 
•ber  1466;  in  which  lord  Boyd  fell  down  upon  his  -kneei 
before  the  throne,  where  the  king  sat,  and  in  an  elaborate 
harangue,  complairted  of  the  hard  construction  put  upon 
the  king's  removal  from  Linlithgow,  and  how  ill  this  was 
interpreted  by  his  enemies,  who  threatened  that  the  ad-? 
visers  of  that  affair  should  one  day  suffer  punishment; 
humbly  beseeching  his  majesty  to  declare  his  own  sense 
^nd  pleasure  thereupon,  and  that  if  he  conceived  any  ill- 
will  or  disgust  against  him  for  that  journey,  that  he  would 
t)penly  declare  it.     The  king,  after  advising  a  little  with 
•the  lords,  made  answer,  that  the  lord  Boyd  was  not  his 
'  adviser,  but  rather  his  companion  in  that  journey;  and 
therefore  that  he  was  more  worthy  of  a  reward  for  his  cour* 
isesy,  than  of  punishment  for  his  obsequiousness  or  com-* 
pliance  therein ;  and  this  he  was  willir\g  to  declare  in  a 
public  decree  of  the  estates,  and  in  the  same  decree  pro- 
vision should  be  made,  that  this  matter  should  never  be 
prejudicial  to  the  lord  Boyd  or  his  companions.     His  lord^ 
«hip  then  desired,  that  this  decree  might  be  registered  in 
the  acts  of  the  assembly,  and  confirmed  by  letters  patent 
under  the  great  seal,  which  was  also  complied  with.     At 
the  same  time  also  the  king,  by  advice  of  Ms  council, 
'gave  him  letters  patent,  whereby  he  was  constituted  sole 
regent,  and  had  the  safety  of  the  king,  his  brothers,  sisters, 
towns,  castles,  and  aH  the  jurisdiction  over  bis  subjects, 
coiftmitted  to  him,  till  the  king  himself  arrived  to  the  age 
,pf  twenty-one  years.     And  the  nobles  then  present  so- 
•lemnly  promised  to  be  assistant  to  the  lord  Boyd,  and  also 
Jtjo  his^brother,  in  all  their  public  actions,  and  that  they 
woiTild  be  liable  to  punishment,  if  they  did  not  carefully, 
f^i}d  with  faithfulness,  perform  what  thpy  then  promisefd, 


B  O  Y  I>.  295 

to  which  stipulation  the  king  also  subscribed.  Lord  Boyd 
next  contrived  to  be  made  lord  great  chamberiam^  and 
after  this  had  the  boldness  to  procure  the  lady  Mary  Stew^ 
arty  the  late  king's  eldest  daughter,  in  marriage  for  his  son 
sir  Thomas  Boyd,  notwithstanding  the  care  and  precaution 
of  the  parliament  The  lord  Boyd's  son  was  a  most  ac- 
complished gentleman,  and  this  match  and  near  alliance 
to  the  crowuj  added  to  his  own  distinguished  merit,  raised 
him  to  a  nearer  place  in  the  affection  as  well  as  confidence 
of  his  sovereign,  by  whom  he  was  soon  after  created 
earl  of  Arran,  and  was  now  himself  considered  as  the 
fountain  from  whence  all  honours  and  preferments  must 
flow.  The  lord  chamberlain,  by  this  great  accession  of  ho« 
nour  to  his  family,  seemed  to  have  arrived  at  the  highest 
pinnacle  of  power  and  grandeur ;  but  what  seemed  to  esta- 
blish bis  power,  proved  the  very  means  of  its  overthrow. 
About  this  time,  a  marriage  having  been  concluded,  by 
ambassadors  sent  into  Denmark  for  that  purpose,  between 
the  young  king  of'  Scotland,  and  Margaret,  a  daughter  of 
the  king  of  Denmark,  the  earl  of  Arran  was  selected  to  go 
over  to  Denmark,  to  espouse  the  Danish  princess  in  the 
king  his  brother-in-law's  name,  and  to  conduct  her  to  Scot- 
land. The  earl  of  Arran,  judging  all  things  safe  at  home, , 
willingly  accepted  this  honour ;  and,  in  the  beginning  of 
the  autumn  of  1469,  set  sail  for  Denmark  with  a  proper 
convoy,  and  a  noble  train  of  friends  and  followers.  This 
was,  however,  a  fatal  step,  for  the  lord  chamberlain,  the 
earPs  father,  being  now  much  absent  from  the  court  in 
the  necessary  discharge  of  his  office,  as  well  as  through 
age  and  infirmities,  which  was  the  case  also  of  his  brother 
sir  Alexander  Boyd  ;  the  earl  of  Arran  had  no  sooner  set 
out  on  his  embassy,  than  every  endeavour  was  tried  to 
alienate  the  king's  a&ction  from  the  Boyds.  Every  pub- 
lic miscarriage  was  laid  at  their  door ;  and  the  Kennedies, 
their  ancient  enemies,  industriously  spread  abroad  reports, 
to  inflame  the  people  likewise  against  them^t  They  repre- 
sented to  the  king,  that  the  lord  Boyd  had  abused  his 
^^  power  during  his  majesty's  minority ;  that  his  matching  his 
9on,  the  earl  of  Arran,  with  the  princess  Mary,  was  stain- 
ing the  royal  blood  of  Scotland,  was  an  indignity  to  the 
crown,  and  the  prelude  to  the  execution  of  a  plot  they  had 
contrived  of  usurping  even  the  sovereignty  itself;  for  they 
represented  the  lord  chamberlain  as  an  ambitious,  aspiring 
man,  guilty  of  the  highest  ofifences,  and  capable  of  con^ 


*W  BOY  D. 

trivitig  and  eteCuting  the  worst  of  yillanies:  with  what 
justice,  history  does  not  inform  us.  Buehanan  only  says 
the  Boyds  were  the  occasion  of  the  king's  degeneracy  into 
all  manner  of  licentiousness,  by  their  indulgence  of  his 
pleasures.  The  king,  however,  young,  weak,  credulou9, 
and  wavering,  and  naturally  prone  to  jealousy,  began  to 
be  alarmed,  and  was  prevailed  on  to  sacrifice,  not  only  the 
earl  of  Arran,  but  all  bis  family,  to  the  resentment  of  their 
enemies,  notwithstanding  their  ancestors*  great  services  to 
the  crown,  and  in  spite  of  the  ties  of  blood  which  united 
tliem  so  closely.  At  the  request  of  the  adverse  faction, 
the  king  summoned  a  parliament  to  meet  at  Edinburgh, 
the  20th  of  November,  1469,  before  which  lord  Boyd,  tbe 
earl  of  Arran,  though  in  Denmark,  and  sir  Alexander. Boyd 
of  Duncow,  were  sumnioned  to  appear,  to  give  an  account 
of  their  administration,  and  answer  such  charges  as  should 
be  exhibited  against  them.  Lord  Boyd,  as^tonished  at  this 
sudden  blow,  betook  himself  to  arms ;  but,  finding  it  im« 
possible  to  stem  the  torrent,  made  his  escape  into  England.; 
but  his  brother,  sir  Alexander,  being  then  sick>  and  trust- 
ing to  his  own  integrity,  was  brought  before  the  parlia- 
ment, where  he,  the  lord  Boyd,  and  his  son  the  earl  of 
Arran,  were  indicted  of  high-treason,  for  having  laid  hands 
on  the  king,  and  carried  him,  against  an  act  of  parliament, 
f^nd  contrary  to  the  king's  own  will,  froqi  Linlithgow  to 
Edinburgh,  in  1466.  Sir  Alexander  alleged  in  bis  de- 
fence, that  they  had  not  only  obtained  the  king^s  pardon 
for  that  oiFence  in  a  public  convention,  but .  it  was  even 
declared  a  good  service  by  a  subsequent  act  of  parliament; 
but  no  regard  was  had  to  this,  because  it  was  obtained  by 
the  Boyds  when  in  power,  and  masters  of  the  king's  per- 
son :  and  the  crime  being  proved  against  them,  they  were 
found  guilty  by  a  jury  of  lords  and  barons;  and  sir  Alext 
ander  Boyd,  being  present,  was  condemned  to  lose  his 
^ead  on  the  Castle-hill  of  Edinburgh,  which  sentence,  wai^ 
executed  accordingly.  The  lord  Boyd  would  have  Under-^ 
gone  the  same  fate,  if  be  had  not  made  his  escape  into 
England,  where,  however,  be  did  not  long  survive  his 
great  reverse  of  fortune,  dying  at  Alnwick  in  1470.  The 
^arl  of  Arran,  though  absent  upon  public  businesa,  was 
declared  a  public  enemy,  without  being  granted  a  hear- 
ing, or  allowed  the  privilege  of  defending  himself,  and  hi« 
estates  confiscated.  Things  w^re  in  this  situation,  wbeof 
lie  arrived  from  Denmark^  With  the  espoused  queen^  ip  tt\f 


BOYD.  S91 

FHth  of  Forth.  Before  be  landed  he  received  iiltelUgenee 
of  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  bis  family,  and  resolved  to  retire 
into  Denmark ;  and  without  staying  to  attend  the  cere-* 
isionial  df  the  queen^s  landing,  be  took  the  opportunity  of 
one  of  those  Danish  shipis  which  convoyed  the  queen,  and 
were  linder  his  command,  and  embarking  his  Udy,  set  sail 
for  Denmark,  where  he  met  with  a  reception  suitable  to 
his  high  birth.  From  thence  be  travelled  through  Ger- 
many into  France,  and  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  Charles  duke 
of  Burgundy,,  who  received  him  most  graciously,  and 
being  then  at  war  with  his  rebellious  subjects^  the  unfortu- 
nate lo«  d  oiFered  him  his  service,  which  the  duke  readily 
accepted,  and  finding  him  to  be  a  brave  and  wise  man,  h« 
honoured  and  supported  him  and  his  lady  in  a  manner  be- 
coming their  rank.  But  the  king  their  brother,  not  yet 
satisfied  with  the  miseries  of  their  family,  wrote  over  to 
Flanders  to  recal  his  sister  home ;  and  fearing  she  would 
not  be  iddi!iced  to  leave  him,  he  caused  others  to  write  to 
her,  aiid  give  her  hopes  that  his  anger  towards  her  husband 
might  be  appeased,  and  that  if  she  would  come  over  and 
plead  for  him  in  person^  there  was  no  doubt  but  she  might 
prevail  with  her  brother  to  restore  him  again  to  his  favour^ 
The  countess  of  Arran,  flattered  with  these  hopes,  returned, 
and  was  no  sooner  arrived  in  Scotland,  than  the  king  urged 
her  to  a  divorce  firom  her  husband,  cruelly  detained  .her 
from  going  back  to  him,  and  caused  public  citations,  at- 
tested by  witnesses,  to  be  fixed  up  at  Kilmarnock,  the 
seat  of  the  Boyds,  wherein  Thomas  earl  of  Arran  was  com- 
manded to  appear  in  sixty  days,  which  he  not  doing,  his 
marriage  with  the  king^s  sister  was  declared  null  and  void^ 
and  a  divorce  made  (according  to  Buchanan),  the  earl  still 
absent  and  unheard ;  and  the  lady  Mary  was  compelled,  by 
the  king,  to  marry  James  lord  Hamilton,  a  man  much  in- 
ferior to  her  former  husband  both  in  point  of  birth  and 
fortune.  This  transaction  was  in  1474;  and  the  earl  of 
Arran,  now  in  the  last  stage  of  his  miseries,  and  borne 
down  with  the  heavy  load  of  his  misfortunes,  soon  after 
4died  at  Antwerp,  and  was  honourably  interred  there.  The 
character  of  him  and  of  his  father  i^  variously  represented. 
That  they  were  ambitious,  and  regardless  of  the  means  of 
gratifying  that  ambition,  cannot  well  be  denied,  nor  are  we 
permitted  to  censure  with  great  asperity  their  enemies  who 
effected  their  ruin  by  similar  measures  and  with  similar 
^motives.    Their  fall  undoi^btedly  holds  out  an  useful  les^-» 


598  BOYD. 

son,  but  the  e:9rperiei)ce  of  others,  especially  of  example^ 
.  in  history,  seldom  checks  the  progress  of  that  ambition  that 
has  once  commenced  in  success.  ^ 

BOYD  (William),  a  descendant  of  the  preceding,  and 
fourth  and  last  earl  of  Kilmarnock,  was  born  in  1704,  and 
was  but  thirteen  years  old  when  his  father  died :  he  dis*- 
covered  early  a  genius  not  unequal  to  his  birth,  but  found 
the  family  estate  pretty  much  encumbered,  and  great  part, 
of  the  patrimony  alienated,  which  was  by  no  means  an- 
swerable to  his  lordship^s  generous  and  noble  disposition. 
It  was  also  his  misfortune  to  bo  too  soon  let  loose  among^ 
the  gaieties  and  pleasures  of  life.  As  he  grew  up,  instead 
of  applying  himself  to  study,  he  launched  out  into  the 
world  in  pursuit  of  pleasures  which  were  more  expensive 
than  his  fortune  could  support,  and  by  this  means  consi-* 
derably  reduced  his  estate,  which,  from  the  most  probable 
conjecture,  was  the  true  reason  of  his  taking  up  arms  against 
the  king.  Indeed,  his  lordship  himself  owns  in  his  confes- 
sion to  Mr.  Foster  (while  under  sentence),  that  his  rebellion 
was  a  kind.of  desperate  scheme,  proceeding  originally  from 
his  vices,  to  extricate  himself  from  the  distress  of  his  cir« 
'  cumstances ;  for  he  says,  *^  the  true  root  of  all  was  his  care«* 
less  and  dissolute  life,  by  which  he  had  reduced  himself  to 
great  and  perplexing  difficulties ;  that  the  exigency  of  his 
affairs  was  in  particular  very  pressing  at  the  time  of  the 
rebellion ;  and  that,  besides  the  general  hope  he  had  of 
mending  bis  fortune  by  the  success  of  it,  he  was  also 
tempted  by  another  prospect  of  retrieving  his  cia:cum«- 
stances,  by  following  the  Pretender^s  standard.''  It  does 
not  appear  that  his  lordship  was  in  the  original  design  of 
the  rebellion :  on  the  contrary,  he  declared  both  in  his 
speech  at  the  bar  of  the  house  of  lords,  and  in  his  petition 
to  the  king  after  his  sentence,  that  it  was  not  till  after  the 
battle  of  Preston  Pans  that  he  became  a  party  in  it,  having, 
till  then,  neither  influenced  his  tenants  or  followers  to 
/  assist  or  abet  the  rebellion;  but,  on  the  contrary,  in- 

fluenced the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Kilmarnock, 
and  the  neighbouring  boroughs,  to  rise  in  arms  for  his 
majesty's  service,  which  had  so  good  an  effect,  that  two 
hundred  men  from  Kilmarnock  very  soon  appeared  m 
arms,  and  remsvned  so  ail  the  winter  at  Glasgow  and  other 
places.     It  is  said^  that  when  the  earl  joined  the  Pret^o* 

»  Biog.  Briu 


f 


BOYD.  219^ 

Aer*s  standard,  be  was  received  by  him  with  great  marks 
of  esteem  and  distinction  ;  was  declared  of  his  privy-coun- 
cil, made  colonel  of  the  guards,  and  promoted  to  the  de- 
gree of  a  general  (though  his  lordship  himself  says,  he  was 
far  from  heing  a  person  of  any  consequence  among  them). 
How  he  behaved  in  these  stations  (quite  new  to  him,  and 
foreign  from  his  former  manner  of  life),  we  cannot  deter- 
mine ;  but  common  fame  says,  he  displayed  considerable 
courage  till   the  fatal  hattle  of  Cuiloden,  when  he  was    , 
taken^  or  rather  surrendered  himself,  prisoner,  to  the  king's 
troops,  though  involuntarily,  and  with  a <  design  to  have 
facilitated  his  escape:  for  be  acknowledged  to  Mr.  Foster, 
whilst  under  sentence,  that  when  he  saw  the  king's  dra- 
goons, and  made  towards  them,  he  thought  they  had  been 
Fitz-James's  horse ;  and  that  if  he  could  have  reached 
them  by  mounting  behind  one  of  the  dragoons,  his  escape 
would  have  been  more  certain,  than  when  he  was  on  foot. 
Yet,  in  his  speech  to  the  house  of  lords,  he  made  a  merit 
of  having  surrendered  himself,  at  a  time  when  he  said  he 
could  easily  have  made  his  escape,  and  in  this  he  owned, 
^ben  in  a  state  of  repentance,  that  he  had  not  spoken 
truth.     His   lordship  was  brought  to  the  Tower,  and  on 
Moaday  the  28th  of  July,  1746,  was,  together  with  the 
earl  of  Cromartie,  and  lord  Balmerino,  conducted  to  West- 
fiiinster-hall,  and  at  the  bar  of  the  lord'^  high-steward's 
icoiirt,  arraigned,  and  pleaded   guilty  to  his  indictment, 
submitting  himself  to  his  majesty's  mercy  and  clemency. 
On  the  Wednesday  following,  the  three  lords  were  agaih 
brought  from  the  Tower  to  receive  sentence,  when  the 
lord  Kilmarnock  being  asked  by  the  lord  high-steward,  if 
he  had  any  thing  to  offer  why  sentence  of  death  should  not 
>be  passed  upon  him,  his  lordship,  addressing  himself  tb 
his  grace  and  the  whole  august  assembly,  then  consisting 
.of  an  hundred  and  thirty-six  peers,  delivered  an  eloquent 
•speech,  after  which,  sentence  of  death  was  pronounced 
-upon  him,  and  he  returned  to  the  Tower.     After  this,  he 
presented  petitions  to  the  king,  the  prince  of  Wales,  and 
iduke  of  Cumberland,  wherein  he   set   forth  his  family's 
constant  attachment  to  the  revolution  interest,  and  that  of 
the  iUnstrious  house  of  Hanover;   his  father's  zeal  and 
activity  in  support  of  both  in  the  rebellion  in  1715,  and 
his  own  appearing  in  arms  (though  then  but  young)  under 
his  father,  and  the  whole  tenour  of  his  conduct  ever  since 
that  time.     But  the  services  of  his  forefathers  could  not 


Joa  BOYD. 

satisfy  the  ptibtic  demand  for  justice,  nor  av^sil  hint  8<H&r 
as  to  procure  him  pardon.  He  was  bebeiided  on  Towen- 
bill,  August  18,  1746,  and  was  interred  m  the  Towar 
church,  with  tbis  inscription  upon  his  coffin,  viz*  ^^  Guliel^i 
mus  Comes  de  Kilmarnock,  decollat.  18  Augusti,  1746, 
a^tat.  suas  42.*  -  His  iordsbip^s  whole  deportment,  from  the 
tune  he  was  condemned  till  his  execution,  was  suitable  to 
one  in  his  unhappy  circumstances.  He  gave  the  most 
lively  marks  of  a  sincere  humiliation  and  repentance  for 
all  his  miscarriages,  and  his  behaviour  in  the  hour  of  death 
was  resigned,  but  strictly  decent  and  awful.  He  had  hiio* 
self  observed,  with  great  truth,  that  for  a  man  who  bad  led 
a.  dissolute  life,  and  yet  belieted  the  consequences  of 
death,  to  put  on  an  air  of  daringness  and  jsibsolo&e  iiitre-* 
pidity,  must  argue  him  either  to  be  very  stupid- ori^fjr 
impious.  He  was  a  nobleman  of  fine  address  and. polite 
behaviour ;  his  person  was  tall  and  graceful }  his  eouo- 
tenance  mild,  but  bis  com  pie  xioti  paid;  and  he  had  abi- 
lities, which,  if  they  had  been  properl^y,  applied,  flught 
have  rendered  him  capable  of  bringing  an  increaso  of  bo^ 
nour  to  his  family,  instead  of  ruin  and  disgxaoe.  v  His 
lordship  lived  and  died  in  the  public  profession  of  the 
church  of  Scotland,  and  left  behind  bima«  widow  (who 
was  the  lady  Anne  Livingston,  4anghierof  Jamea  eartaaf 
Linlithgow  and  Callander  (attainted  in  1715),  with  .Whom 
he  had  a  ccnsiderable  fortune),  and  three  sons,  the  . eldest 
of  whom  his  lordship  had  educated  in  the  principles  of 
duty  and  loyalty  to  his  majesty^  and  in  whose  serviee  iie 
fought  against  the  rebels.  He  succeeded^: upon  tb«^esth 
of  Mary,  countess  of  Errol,  in  1758,  to*  her  estate 'mud 
honours,  his  mother  having  been  undoubted  heir  of  dioei^f 
that  noble  family,  and  be  was  the  sixteenth  earl  of  Emil. 
He  died  June  3,  1778,  leaving  issue**'        i-  ...    W 

BOYD  (Robert),  an  eminent  ScoIgIi  divine,,  ofc  the 
same  family  as  the  preceding,  being  a  descendant  of  Ke- 
bert  Boyd,  earl  of  Arran,  sometime  protector  of  Scotland, 
from  whom  descended  James  Boyd,  baroo  of'Trochrig^jfcke 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  article.  -He  was  bora'in  l#^, 
and  educated  at  the  university  of  Edinburgh,  wherec^e 
took  his  master's  degree;  In  1604,  according  tor  the- ei^^ 
torn  of  the  times,  he  travelled  into  Firance,  aod.atuiliadvjfor 
soine  time  under  Rivet,  improving  himself  io  Greek  and 


^  Biog.  Brit    See  art.  Jam^9  Fot^ei;^ 


)t«.».^'  •* 


BOYD.  «0l 

Hetirew,  and  in  French,  which  be  spoke  with  great  fluency. 
He  was  afterwards  invited  by  the  university  of  Montauban 
to  be  professor  of  philosophy,  and  in  the  mean  time  him- 
self studied  divinity,  and  was  ordained  according  to  the 
ibrais  of  the  French  reformed  church.  In  1608  he  wa« 
removed  to  a  professorship  at  Saumur,  which  he  filled  un- 
til 1614,  and  both  as  a  preacher  and  teacher  was  much 
admired  and  eagerly  followed.  His  f^me  reaching  the  ears 
of  his  sovereign,  king  James,  he  sent  him  a  pressing  in- 
vitation to  fill  the  divinity  chair  in  the  university  of  Glas- 
gow, in  consequence  of  which  he  removed  thither  in  1615^ 
to  the  great  sorrow  of  his  friends  at  Saumur,  and  the  uni- 
versity at  large.  He  was  enabled  soon,  in  conjunction 
with  some  able  colfeagues,  to  raise  the  reputation  of  the 
Glasgow  university,  the  mode  of  study  in  which  he  re- 
formed from  the  useless  and  disputatious  modes  of  the 
•ehools.     His  situation,  however,  afterwards  became  em- 

-barrassed  from  the  disputes  which  arose  respecting  the 
Upheme  of  king  James  to  assimilate  the  churches  of  Eng« 
land  and  Scotland,  which  was   highly  unpopular  in  the 

Jatter  country.  Boyd^s  education,  and  especially  his  as- 
focietions  -  abroad,  had  inclined  him  to  the  presby terian 
fbrm  of  church  government,  and  finding  that  he  could  not 

?  under  such  circumstances  retain  his  situation  as  preacher 
and  professor  at  Glasgow,  he  resigned  both,  and  went  to 
Uve  p'ivateiy  on  an  estate  which  he  possessed.  Endea- 
vour^ were  made  to  fix  him  in  Edinburgh,  and  afterwards 

'to  recall  him  to  Glasgow,  but  these  not  being  successful, 

i  lie  finally  retired  from  public  life  to  Carrick,  his  estate, 
where  be  died  Jan.  5,  1627.  He  wrote  in  very  elegant 
Latin,  a  commentary  on   the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 

.whi^h  was  published  under  the  title  ^^  Robert!  Bodii  Scoti 
Prselectiones  in  Epistolam  ad  Ephesios,*^  Lond>  1652,  foL' 

'  '  BOYDELL  (John),  a  liberal  patron  of  the  arts,  and  an 
lionour  to  his  country,  was  born  at  Stanton  in  Shropshire, 

/JwQ.  19,  1719.  His  grandfather  was  the  rev.  John  Boy- 
dell,  D.  p.  vicar  of  Ashbourne,  and  rector  of  Mapleton  in 
l)erbysbire  *,  whose  son  Josiah  married  Mary  Milnes,  eld- 
est daughter  of  Samuel  Milnes,  esq.  of  Ash-house  near 
Taniditch,  Derbyshire,  Jan.  22,  1718.  Dr.  Boydell  was 
an  excellent  scholar,  and  for  some  time  superintended  the 

•  See  ^MM  ¥eniM  by  this  gentleman,  pnUUhtd  by  Ibe  A14enne»  in  119$, 
Qmu  Meg.  1^09,  vol.  LXXVlil^  B.  771. 
i  GUcke't  Ijfefl,  foL  i^as. 


a03  BOYD  EL  L. 

education  of  bis  graLndson,  intending  him  for  the  chufctr^ 
but  dying  in  1731,  the  youth  was  brought  up  by  his  fatberi 
a  land-surveyor,  who  very  naturally  intended  hin>  for  his 
own  profession,  and  as  a  taste  for  drawing  generally  dis-^ 
covers  itself  very  .early,  he  might  probably  tbresee  great 
advantages  from  his  son^s  possessing  this  talent.  For* 
tunately,  however,  for  young  Boydell,  and  for  the  arts,  a 
trifling  accident  gave  a  more  decided  direction  to  his  mind^ 
and  led  him  to  aim  at  higher  efforts  in  the  art  than  the 
mere  mechanism  of  ground-plans  and  outlines.  This  ,wa9 
no  othec  than  the  sight  of  a  print  by  Toms,  a  very  indif- 
ferent artist,  of  sir  John  Glynne's  seat  and  the  old  castle 
attached  to  it,  in  "  Baddeley^s  Views  of  different  Country 
Seats.'*  An  exact  dellheation  of  a  building  that  he  had 
so  often  contemplated,  afforded  him  pleasure,  and  excited 
8ome  reflections  which  gave  a  new  turn  to  his  ambition* 
Considering'  it  as  an  engraving,  and  from  the  copper  of 
which  might  be  taken  an  almost  indefinite  number  of  im* 
pressions,  he  determined  to  quit  the  pen,  and  take  up 
the  graver,  as  an  instrument  which  would  enable  him  to 
disseminate  whatever  work  he'  could  produce,  in  so  much 
wider  a  circle.  This  resolution  was  no  sooner  made,  than 
it  was  put  in  execution ;  for,  with  that  spirit  and  perse- 
verance which  he  manifested  in  every  succeeding  scene  of 
life,  he,  at  twenty-one  years  of  age,  walked  up  to  the 
metropolis,  and  bound  himself  apprentice  for  seven  years 
to  Mr.  Top^,  the  engraver  of  the  print  which  had  so  fbrcir- 
bly  attracted  his  attention.  These,  and  accidents  equally 
trifling,  sometimes  attract  men  of  strong  minds  into  the 
path  that  leads  direct  to  fame,  and  have  been  generally 
considered  as  proving  that  they  were  born  with  some  pe- 
culiar genius  for  some  peculiar  study.  Sir  J.  Reynolds 
had  the  first  fondness  for  his  art  excited  by  the  perusal  of. 
**  Richardson's  Treatise  on  Painting ;"  and  Mr.  Boydell 
was  induced  to  learn  the  art  of  engraving,  by  a  coarse 
print  of  a  coarse  artist,  representing  a  mis-shapen  gothic 
castle. 

This  step,  however,  gave  bis  father  no  little  uneasiness, 
and  every  argument  and  remonstrance  of  himself  and  his 
friends  were  employed  to  divert  him  from  a  pursuit  which 
they  cqnsid^red  as  likely  to  Ibe  very  unprofitable.  But 
this  producing  no  effect,  his  father  took  into  business 
with  him  a  younger  son,  Thomas,  who  succeeded  htm, 
and  who  d^ed  a  few  years  before  the  subject  of  the  present 


B  O  Y  D  E  L  L.  J0« 

article,  at  Trevallyn  Hall,  Denbighshire,  where  lis  father 
had  lived  before  him,  but  did  not  live  long  enough  to  wit- 
ness  the  success  of  his  son  John,  in  the  pursuit  he  so  much 
disapproved. 

His  conduct  during  his  apprenticeship  was  eminently 
assiduou&i    Eager  to  attain  all  possible  knowledge  of  an 
art  on  which  his  mind  was  bent,  and  of  every  thing  that 
could  be  useful  to  him,  and  impelled  by  an  industry  that 
seemed  inherent  in  his  nature,  he,  whenever  he  could, 
attended  the  academy  in  St  Martin*s-lane  to  perfect  him- 
self in  drawing ;  his  leisure  hours  in  the  evening  were  de- 
voted to  the  study  of  perspective,  and  to  the  learning  of 
French  without  the  aid  of  a  master.     After  very  steadily 
V  pursuing  his  business  for  six  years,  and  finding  himself  a 
better  artist  thai%his  teacher,,  he  bouj^ht  from  Mr.  Toms 
the  last  .year  of  his  apprenticeship,  and  became  his  own 
master.     In  1745  or  1746  he  published  six  small  land- 
scapes, desigped  and  engraved  by  himself.  ^  This  publi- 
cation, from  his  having  in  most  of  the  views  chosen  a  si- 
tuation in  which  a  bridge  formed  part  of  the  scenery,  was 
entitled  **  The  Bridge  book,**   and  sold  for  a  shilling* 
Small  as  ^his  sum  was,  he  sometimes  spoke  with  apparent 
pleasure  of  a  silversmith  in   Duke*s-court,    St.  Martinis 
lane,  having  sold  so  many,  that  when  he  settled  his  annual 
account,  he  thought  it  would  be  civil  to  take  a  silver  pint 
mug  in  part  of  payment,  and  this  mug  he  regained  until 
his  dying  day.     He  afterwards  designed  and  engraved 
many  other  views,  generally  of  places  in  and  about  Lon- 
don, and  published  the  greater  part  of  them  at  the  low 
price  of  one  shilling  eachu     But  even  at  this  early  period 
.  he  was  so  much  alive  to  fame,  that  after  having  passed 
several  mobths  in  copying  an  historical  sketch  of  Corio- 
ianus  by  Sebastian  Concha,  he  so  much  disliked  his  own 
engraving,  that  he  cut  the  plate  to  pieces.     Besides  these, 
he  engraved  many  prints  fcom  Brocking,  Berchem,  Sal- 
vator  Rosa,  &c. .  The  manner  in  which  many  of  them  are 
executed,  is  highly  .xespectable  ^   and,  being  done  at  a 
iime  when  the  artist  had  much  other  business  to  attend  to^ 
.  displays  an  industry  rarely  to  be  paralleled,  and  proves 
>that  had  he  devoted  all  his  time  to  engraving,  he  would 
/have  ranked  high  in  the  profession.     His  facility  of  exe* 
/cution^  and  unconquerable  perseverance,  having  thus  en- 
abled him  to  complete  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  prints, 
kui  collected  the  whole  in  one  port-fglio,  aod  publishedit 


f04  B  O  Y  D  E  L  L. 

at  five  guineas.     He  modestly  allowed  that  he  himself  bad 
not  sit  that  time  arrived  at  any  eminence  in  the  art  of  en- 
gravings and  that  those  prints  are  now  chiefly  valuable 
from  a  comparison  of  them  with  the  improved  state  of  the 
art  within  the  last  fifty  years.     In  fact,  there  were  at  that 
time  BO  eminent  engravers  in  England,  and  Mr*  Boydell 
saw  the  necessity  of  forcing  the  art  by  stimulating  men  of* 
genius  with  suitable  rewarciU.     With  the  profits  of  the  folio 
volume  of  prints  above-mentioned,  he  was  enabled  to  pay 
very  liberally  the  best  artists  of  bis  time,  and  thus  pre-* 
sented  the  world  with  English  engravings  from  the  works  of^ 
the  greatest  masters.     The  encouragement  that  he  ex* 
perienced  from  the  public  was  equal  to  the  spirit  and  pa<p 
triotism  of  his  undertaking,  and  soon  laid  the  foundation 
of  an  ample  fortune.     He  used  to  observe^  that  he  believed 
the  book  we  have  alluded  to  was  the  first  that  had  ever 
made  a  lord  mayor  of  London;  and  that  when  the  small* 
ness  of  the  work  was  compared  with  what  had  followed,  it 
would  impress  all  young  men  with  the  truth  of  what  be 
bad  often  held  out  to  them,  ^^  tliat  industry,  patieujce,  and 
perseverance,  if  united  to  moderate  talents,  are  certain 
to  surmount  all  difficulties.'*      Mr.  Boydell,    though  he 
never  4iim$elf  made  any  great  progress  as  an  engraver,  was 
certainly  the  greatest  encourager  of  the  art  that  this  country 
ever  knew.     The  arts  were  at  the  .time  he  began,^at  a 
very  low  ebb  in  this  country.  Wotton*s  portraits  of  hounds 
and  horses,  grooms  and  squires,  with  a  distant  view  of  the  , 
dog-kennel  and  stable;  and  Hudson's  portraits  of  gentle- 
men in  great  coats  and  jockey  caps,  were  in  high  repute* 
Inferior  prints  from  poor  originals  were  almost  the  only 
works  our  English  artists  were  thought  capable  of  per*  , 
forming ;  and,  mortifying  as  it  must  be  to  acknowledge  it, 
yet  it  must  be  admitted,  that  (with  the  exception  of  the 
inimitable  Hogarth,  and  two.  or  three  others)  the  gene*- 
rality  of  them  were  not  qualified  for  much  better  things. 
The  powers  of  the  artists  were,  however,   equal  to  the^ 
Jtaste  of  a  great  majority  of  their  cu&tomers  ;  and  the  few 
people  of  the  higher  order  who  had  a  relish  for  better 
productions,    indulged  it  in  the  purchase  of  Italian  and 
Flemish  pictures  and  French  prints;  for  which,  even  at 
that  time,  the  empire  was  drained  of  immense  sums  of 
money.     To  check  this  destructive  fashion,  Mr.  Boydell 
^ugbt  for  an  English  engraver  who  could  equal,  if  not 
excel  them ;  aod  in  Woollett  he  found  one.    The  Temple 


B  O  Y  D  B  L  L;  ii}i 

•f  Apollo,  from  Claude,  and  two  premium  pictures  fiom 
the  Smiths  of  Chichester,  were  amongst  the  first  large 
works  which  this  excellent  artist  engraved ;  but  the  Niobe 
and  the  Phaeton,  from  Wilson,  established  his  fame.  For 
the  first  of  them  the  alderman  agreed  to  give  the  engraver 
fifty  guineas,  and  when  it  was  completed  paid* him  a 
hundred.  The  second,  the  artist  agreed  to  engrave  for 
fifty  guineas,  and  the  alderman  paid  him  one  hundred  and 
(wenty.  The  two  prints  were  published  by  subscription^ 
at  five  shillings  each.  Proof  prints  were  not  at  that  time 
considered  as  having  any  particular  value  ;  the  few  that 
were  taken  off  to  examine  the  progress  of  the  plate  were 
delivered  to  such  subscribers  as  chose  to  have  them,  at  the 
subscription  price.  Several  of  these  have  since  that  time 
been  sold  at  public  auctions,  at  ten  and  eleven  guineas 
.  each.  By  these  and  similar  publications  he  had  the  satis- 
faction to  see  in  his  own  time  the  beneficial  effects  of  his 
exertions.  We  have  before  observed,  that  previous  to  his 
establishing  a  continental  correspondence  for  the  exporta* 
tion  of  pnnts,  immense  soms  were  annually  sent  out  of, 
the  country  for  the  purchase  of  those  that  were  engraved 
abroad ;  but  he  changed  the  course  of  the  current,  and 
for  many  of  the  later  years  of  his  life,  the  balance  of  the 
print-trade  with  the  continent  was  very  much  in  favour  of 
Great  Britain. 

On  the  5th  of  August  1782,  Mr.  Boydell  was  chosen 
alderman  of  London,  for  the  ward  of  Cheap,  in  the  room 
of  alderman  Crichton,  deceased.^  In  the  year  1785  he 
berved  the  office  of  sheriff;  and  in  1790,  was  chosen  lord 
mayor  of  London,  an  office  of  which  he  discharged  the 
duties  and  the  honours  with  a  diligence,  uprightness, 
and  liberality,  that  may  be  equalled,  but  will  rarely  be  ex- 
ceeded. 

Having  been  so  successful  in  promoting  the  art  of  en* 
graving  in  this  country,  he  resolved  to  direct  his  next 
efforts  to  the  establishing  an  English  school  of  historical 
pafnting;  and  justly  conceiving  that  no  subject  could  be 
more  appropriate  for  such  a  national  attempt  than  £ng« 
land's  inspired  poet,  and  great  painter  of  nature,  Shak- 
•peare,  he  projected,  and  just  lived  to  see  completed,  a 
most  splendid  edition  of  the  works  of  that  author,  illus^ 
(rated  by  engravings  from  paintings  of  the  first  artists  that 
the  country  could  furnish,  and  of  whichtbe  expence  was 
prodigious.    These  paintings  afterwards  formed  what  was 

Vol.  VJ.  X 


30«  B  O  Y  D  E  L  L, 

termed  **  The  Shakspeare  gallery,'*  in  Pall  Mall  5  anJ  ure 
believe  there  are  few  individual  possessed  of  the  least 
taste,  or  even  curiosity,  who  have  not  inspected  and  been 
delighted  by  them. 

It  is  always  interesting  to  trace  the  origin  of  a  great  un-  . 
dertaking.     The  Shakspeare  gallery  arose  from  a  conver- 
sation at  the  dining-^table  of  Mr.  Josiah  Boydell  (the  alder-^ 
man's  nephew  and  successor)  in  Novermber   1786,  in  the^ 
presence  of  Mr.  West,  Mr-  Romney,  and  Mr.  P.  Sandby^ 
artists,  and  Mr.  Haylcy,  Mr.  Hoole,  Mr.  Braithwaite^  Mn 
Nicol,  and  the  alderman.     The  literary  part  of  the  com- 
pany were  joining  with   the  professional  gentlemen   in 
complimenting  the  alderman  on.  having  lived  to  see  the 
'whole  tide  of  the  commerce  in  prints  with  the  continent 
entirely  changed  from  importing  to  exporting,  and  that 
effected  in  the  space  of  one  life,  by  the  alderman's  great 
and  munificent  exertions.     The  only  answer  the  aldermaa 
made  to  these  compliments  was,  that  he  was  not  yet  sa- 
tisfied with  what  he  had  done  ;  and  that,  old  as  he  was,  he 
should  like  to  wipe  away  th^  stigma  which  pM  foreign 
critics  threw  on  this  nation,  ^^  that  we  had  no  genius  for 
•    historical  painting."     He  said  he  was  certain  from  his  suc- 
*      cess  in  encouraging  engraving,  that  Englishmen  wanted 
nothing  but  proper  encouragement  and  subjects  to  excel 
in  historical  painting,  and  this  encouragement  be  himself 
would  endeavour  to  find,  if  a  proper  subject  was  pointed 
out.     Mr.  Nicol  (his  majesty's  bookseller,  and  afterwards 
the  alderman's  nephew;  by  marriage)   replied  that  there 
was  one  great  national  subject,  concerning  which  there 
could  be  no  difference  of  opinion,  and  mentioned  Shak- 
speare I    The  proposition  was  received  with  acclamation 
by  the  alderman  and  the  whole  company ;  and  on  Decem- 
'   ber  1  of  the  same  year,  the  plan  being  considered,  was 
laid  before  the  public  in  a  printed  prospectus. 

After  having  expended  in  his  favourite  plan  of  advancing 
the  fine  arts  in  England  no  less  a  sum  than  3^0,000/.  this 
worthy  and  venerable  character  was  necessitated,  by  the 
.stoppage  of  his  foreign  trade  during  a  dozen  years  of  war, 
to  apply  to  parliament,  in  the  beginning  of  1804,  for  per- 
mission to  dispose  of  the  Shakspeare  gallery,  and  hi^  other 
coljectjions  of  pictures  and  prints,  by  way  of  lottery.  His 
letter  to  sir  John  William  Anderson,  bart.  on  the  occasion 
of  bis' introducing  a  petition  for  that  purpose  to  the  bouse 
of  commons^  is  a  document  of  too  much  curiosity  and  iu** 


B  Q  Y  D  E  L  L, 


307 


terest  to  the  feelings  to  be  omitted.     We  have  therefore 
thrown  it  into  a  note.  * 

The  act  of  parliament  being  passed,  to  sanction  this  lot- 
tery, the  worthy  alderoian  had  the  gratification  of  living 


*  **  To  sir  John  William  Anderson, 
bart.  one  of  the  representatives  of  the 
city  of  London* 

«*  Dear  Sir,     Cheapside,  Feb.  4, 1 804. 

"  The  kindness  with  which  you  have 
undertaken  to  represent  my  case,  calls 
upon  me  to  lay  open  to  you,  with  the 
utmost  candour,  the  circumstances  at- 
tending it,  which  I  will  now  endeavour 
to  do  as  briefly  as  possible. 

•*  It  is  above  sixty  years  since  I  be- 
gan to  study  the  art  of  engraving,  in 
the  course  of  which  time,  besides  em- 
ploying that  long  period  of  life  in  my 
profession,  with  an  industry  and  assi- 
duity tbat  would  be  im proper  in  me  to 
describe,  I  have  laid  out  with  mv 
brethren  in  promoting  the  commerce 
of  the  flue  .artjs  in  this  country,  above 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
pounds. 

**  When  I  first  began  business,  the 
whole  commerce  of  prints  in  this  country 
consisted  in  importing  foreign .  prints, 
principally  from  France,  to  supply 
the  cabinets  of  the  curious  in  this 
kingdom.  Impressed  with  the  idea 
that  the  genius,  uf  our  own  countrymen, 
%i  properly  encouraged,  was  equal  to 
that  of  foreigners,  I  set  about  estab- 
lishing a  School  of  Engraving  in  Eng- 
land ;  with  what  success  the  public 
are  well  acquainted.  It  is,  perhaps, 
at  present,  sufficient  to  say  that  tlie 
whole  course  of  that  commerce  is 
•hanged,  very  few  prints  being,  now 
impojpted  into  this  country,  while  the 
foreign  market  is  principally  supplied 
with  prints  from  England. 

*'  In  efiecting  this  favourite  plan, 
I  have  not  only  spent  a  long  life,  but 
have  employed  near  forty  years  of  the 
labour  of  my  nephew,  Josiah  Boy  del  I, 
who  has  been  bred  to  the  business, 
and  whose  assistance  during  that  pe- 
riod has  been  greatly  instrumental  i^ 
pfombtiug  a  School  of  Engraving  in 
this  country.  By  the  blessing  of  Pro- 
iridence,  these  exertions  have  been 
Tery  siaccessful ;  not  only  in  that  re- 
spect,, but  in  a  commercial,  point  of 
view  ;'  for  the  large  sums  I  regularly 
received  from  the  continent,  previous 
to  the  French  revolution,  for  impres- 
«ioBt  taken  from  the  numerous  plates 


engraved  in  England,  encouraged  me 
to  attempt  also  an  English  Sdhool  of 
Historical  Painting. 

*'  I  had  observed  with  indignation  that 
the  want  of  such  a  school  had  been 
long  made  a  favourite  topic  of  oppro- 
brium against  this  country,  among 
foreign  writers  on  national  taste.  No 
subject,  therefore,  could  be  more  ap- 
propriate for  such  a  national  attempt, 
than  England's  inspired  poet,  and 
great  painter  of  nature,  Shakspeare  ; 
and  I  flatter  myself  the  most  preju- 
diced foreigner  must  allow  thaV  the 
Shakspeare  gallery  will  convince  the 
world  that  Englishmen  want  nothing 
but  the  fostering  hand  of  encourage- 
ment, to  bring  forth  their  genius  in 
this  line  of  art.  I  might  go  further, 
and  defy  any  of  the  Italian,  Flemish, 
or  French  schoolsj  to  show  in  so  short 
a  space  of  time,  such  an  exertion  as 
the  Shakspeare  Gallery ;  and  if  they 
could  have  made  such  an  exertion  in 
so  short  a  period,  the  pictures  would 
have  been  marked  with  all  that  mo- 
notonous sameness  which  distinguishes 
those  different  schools.  Whereas,  in 
the  Shakspeare  Gallery,  every  artist* 
partaking  of  the  freedom  of  his  coun*- 
try,  and  endowed  with  that  originality 
of  thinking  so  peculiar  to  its  natives, 
has  chosen  his  own  road  to  what  ho  - 
conceived  to  be  excellence,  unshackled 
by  the  slavish  imitation  and  uniformity 
that  pervade  all  the  foreign  schools. 

"  This  Gallery  I  once  flattered  my- 
self with  being  able  to  leave  to  that 
generous  public  whp  have  for  so  long 
a  period  encouraged  my  undertakings  > 
but,  unfortunately  for  ail  those  cout 
nected  with  the  fine  arts,  a  Vandalick 
revolution  has  arisen,  which,  in  con- 
vulsing all  Europe,  has  entirely  ex- 
tinguished, except  in  this  happy  island, 
all  those  who  hkd  the  taste  or  the 
power  to  promote  the  fine  arts  ;  .while 
the  Tyrant  that  at  present  governs 
France  tells  that  believing  and  be- 
sotted  nation,  that,  in  the  midst  of  all 
his  robbery  and  rapine,  he  is  a  great 
patron  and  promoter  of  thie  fine  arts  ; 
just  as  if  those  arts,  that  humanise  and 
polish  mankind,  could  be  promoted  by  ' 
such  means,  and  by  such  a  man,  ^ 

2 


»0S  »  O  Y  D  E  L  L. 

to  see  every  ticket  sold.  We  are,  at  first  sight,  ineliifed  t^ 
lament  that  he  did  not  live  to  see  the  prizes  drawn,  and 
the  whole  terminated.  But  for  him  to  have  witnessed  his 
gallery  transferred  to  other  hands,  besides  a  number  of 
pictures,  for  the  painting  of  which  he  had -paid  immense 
Sums,  scattered  like  the  Sybill's  leaves,  might  possibly 
have  given  him  many  a  heart-rending  pang.  It  may  be 
Sufficient  in  this  place  to  notice  that  the  gallery  of 
paintings,  in  one  lot,  and  consequently  the  highest  prize^ 
became  the  property  of  Mr.  Tassie,  of  Leicester-square, 
nephew  to  the  late  welUknown  imitator  of  ancient  cameos 
and  intaglios,  and  by  him  the  pictures  were  afterwards  sold 
by  auction. 

.Mr.  BoydelPs  death  was  occasioned  at  last  by  a  too 
scrupulous  attention  to  his  official  duties.     Always  early 

'*  You  will  excuse,  I  am  sure,  my  ders,    Holland,   and    Germany,   (and 

dear  Sir,  some  warmth  in  an  old  man  these  countries  no  doubt  supplied  the 

on  this  subject,  when  I  inform  you  rest  of  Europe)  were  Uie  great  marts ; 

that  this  unhappy  reyolution  lias  cut  but,  alas  !    they  are  now  no   more, 

up  by  the  roots  that  revenue  from  the  The  convulsion   that   has   disjointed 

coiktinent  which  enabled  me  to  under-  and  ruined  the  whole  continent  I  did 

take  such  considerable  works  in  this  not  foresee — I  know  no  man  that  did. 

country.    At  the  same  time,  as  I  am  On  that  head,  therefore,  though  it  haft 

laying  my  case  fairly  before  you,  it  ^nearly  ruined  me  and  mine,  I  can  take 

lihould  not  be  disguised,  that  myna-  but  little  blame  to  myself. 

'  tural  enthusiasm  for  promoting  the  fine  "  In  this  state  of  things  I  throw  my* 

arts  (perhaps  buoyed  up  by  success)  self  with  confidence  upon  that  public 

made  me   improvident.     For   had   I  who  have  always  been  but*  too  partial 

laid  by  but  ten  pounds  out  of  every  to  my  poor  endeavours,   for  the  dis- 

hundred  pounds  my  plates  produced,  posal  of  that,  which,  in  happier  days, 

I  should  not  now  have  had  occasion  to  I  flattered  myself  to  have  presented  to 

trouble  my  friends,  or  appeal  to  the  them. 

public  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  I  flew  "  I  know  of  no  means  by  which  that 
Wiih  impatience  to  employ  some  new  can  be  effected,  just  now,  but  by  a  Lot- 
hrtist,  with  the  whole  gains  of  my  for-  iery;  and  if  the  legislature  will  have  the 
Uer  undertakings.  I  see  too  late  my  goodness  to  grant  a  permission  for  that 
elTor;  for  1  have  thereby  decreased  my  purpose,  they  will  at  least  hare  the 
ready  money,  and  increased  my  stock  assurance  of  the  even  teneur  of  a  long 
of  copper-plates  to  such  a  size,  that  life,  that  it  will  be  fairly  and  honour- 
all  the  print-sellers  in  Europe  could  ably  conducted.  The  objects  of  it  are 
not  purchase  it,  especially  at  these  my  pictures,  galleries,  drawings,  &c. 
times,  so  unfavourable  to  the  arts.  &c.  which,  uncounected  with  my  cop* 

''Having  thus  candidly  owned  my  per-plates  and  trade,  are  much  mora 

error,  I  have  but  one  word  to  say  in  than  sufllcient  to  pay,  if  properly  dit« 

extenuation.   My  receipts  from  abroad  posed  of,  all  I  owe  in  the  world, 

bad  been  so  large,  and  continued  so  **  I   hope  you,    my  dear  Sir,   and 

regular,  that  I  at  all  times  found  them  every  honest  man,  at  any  age,  will 

fully  adequate  to  support  my  under-  feel  for  my  anxiety  to  discharge  my 

takings  at  home.— I  could  not  calcu-  debts;    but  at  my.  advanced  age,  of 

late  on  the  present  crisis,  which  has  eighty-five,  I  feel  it  becomes  doabl/ 

totally  annihilated  them. — ^I  certainly  desirable. 

calculated  on  some  defalcation  of  these  *^  I  am,  JOear  Sir,  with  great  regan), 

ireci  ipts,  by  a  French  or  Spanish  war,  your  obedient  and  obliged  ServanL 

•r  both  ;  but  with  France  or  Spam  I  !.>««  «««.«.,  *» 

•anried  op  but  little  commerce."  Flam-  ^pwi  iJoyMt*., : 


B  Q  T  D  E  L  U  809 

in*  hU  attendance  on  public  business^  he  arrired  at  the 
aessionS'-hoase  in  the  Old  Bailey,  on  Friday  the  7th  De« 
eember,  1804,  before  any  of  the  other  magistrates,  and 
before  the  fires  were  lighted.  Standing  near  a  grate  while 
this  was  done,,  the  damps  were  drawn  out,  and  he  took  a 
cold  :  this*produced  an  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  which 
terminated  his  life  on  the  Tuesday  following.  He  was  in- 
terred with  great  civic  pomp  (the  spontaneous  result  of; 
private  friendship  and  public  respect),  on  the  19th  of  the 
same  month,  in  the  church  of  St.  Olave,  Jewry ;  leaving 
behind  him  for  the  instruction  of  mankind  a  striking  ex* 
ample  to  what  heights  of  fame  and  fortune  men  may  attain 
by  the  united  efforts  of  persevering  industry,  prudent  en^ 
terprize,  and  honourable  dealing. 

The  alderman  bad  long  before  bis  death  arrived  at  that 
period  of  life  which  demands  additional  repose  ;  and  cer- 
tain it  is,  he  could  not  have  carried  on  his  business  in  the 
manner  it  was  carried  on,  without  the  active  and  unremit- 
ting exertions  of  his  nephew  and  partner,  Mr.  Josiah  Boy- 
dell;  whose  professional  qualifications  enabled  him  to  ap-^ 
preciate  the  value  and  merits  of  the  different  works  sub- 
mitted to  his  inspection ;  and  to  point  out  the  errors  which 
ought  to  be  corrected  ;  and  whose  own  productions,  even 
at  the  very  early  period  when  he  made  a  great  number  of 
drawings  from  the  Orford  collection,  gave  weight  to  his 
remonstrances. 

;  It  yet  remains  to  be  added  to  the  character  of  alderman 
Boydell,  that  in  his  magisterial  capacity,  though  inflexibly 
just,  he  was  constitutionally  merciful ;  and  when  masters 
came  before  him  with  complaints  of  their  apprentices,  or 
husbands  with  complaints  of  their  wives,  he  always  at- 
tempted, and  very  often  successfully,  to  accommodate 
their  differences;  and,  when  he  could  with  propriety, 
usually  recommended  the  complaining  party  to  amend  his 
own  conduct,  as  an  example  to  those  whom  he  accused* 
Wishing  to  disseminate  a  taste  for  the  fine  arts,  he  has 
within  these  few  years  presertted  to  the  corporation  of  the 
qity  of  London,  several  valuable  pictures,  which  now  orna- 
ment the  council  chamber  at  Guildhall.  Some  of  them 
commemorate  the  actions  of  our  military  distinguished  cha- 
racters, and  others  are  calculated  to  impress  upon  th^ 
minds  of  the  rising  generation,  the  sentiments  of  industry^ 

{prudence,  and  virtue.     Several  of  these  well-imagined  al* 
egorical  delineations  by  Rtgajid,  Smirk^^  Westail^  &c.  h^ 


310  B  O  Y  D  E  L  L. 

has  had  eugraired,  and  in  the  dissemination  of  either  priut^. 
or  books  which  had  a  moral  tendency  he  always  appeared 
to  take  great  pleasure*. 

In^l748,  he  married  Elizabeth  Lloyd,  second  daughter , 
pi  Edward   Lloyd,  esq.   of  the  Fords   near  Oswestry  in 
/Shropshire,  by  whom  he  had  no  issue.  * 

BOYER  (Abel),  a  lexicographer  and  miscellaneous  wri- 
ter, was  born  June  13,  1667,  at  the  city  of  Castres  in  Upper 
Languedoc.  His  great-grandfather  and  grandfather  were 
masters  of  the  riding-school  at  Nismes ;  his  father  was  . 
president  of  the  supreme  court  at  Castres,  and  his  mother 
was  Catherine,  daughter  of  Campdomerius,  a  celebrated 
physician,  circumstances  which  have  been  recorded  to 
prove  that  he  was  of  a  good  family.  He  was  certainly  of  a 
conscientious  one,  his  relations  being  exiles  for  their  ad- 
herence to  the  protestant  religion.  He  was  first  educated 
by  his  mother's  brother,  Campdomerius,  a  noted  divine 
and  preacher  of  the  reformed  church,. and  then  was  sent  to 
the  protestant  s(  hool  at  Puy  Laurent,  where,  he  applied 
assiduously,  and  exceUed  ail  his  schoolfellows  in  Greek 
and  Latin.  In  1685,  when  the  persecution  prevailed 
against  the  protestants  in  France,  he  followed  his  uncle  to 
Holland,  and  pressed  by  want,  was  obliged  to  enter  into 
the  military  service  in  1687;  but  soon,  by  the  advice  of 
his  r<^lations,  returned  to  his  studied,  and  w^ent  to  the  uni- 
versity of  Franeker,  where  he  went  through  a  regular  coursQ 
of  education,  and- added  to  philosophy,  divinity,  history, 
&c.  the  study  of  the  (nathematics.  In  1689  he  came  over 
to  England,  and  the  hop^^s  of  being  able  to  return  to  France, 
which  the  protestants  in  general  entertained,  being  disap- 
pointed, be  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  his  pen  for  a 
livelihood.  His  first  employment  appears  to  have  been  to 
transcribe  and  prepare  for  the  press  Camden's  letters  from 
the  Cottonian  library,  for  Dr.  Smith,  yvho  afterwards  pub* 
lished  them.  In  1692,  he  became  French  and  Latin  tutor 
to  Allen  Bathurst,  esq.  eldest  son  of  sir  Benjamin  Bathurst, 
who,  being  much  in  favour  with  the  princess  Anne  of  Den- 
mark, afterwards  queen  of  Great  Britain,  he  had  hopes  of 
norae  preferment  £^t  court.     With  this  view  he.  gaid  grea^ 

*  Ip  1779  be  presented  to  the  worshipful  company  of  Stationers,  West's  fiae 
picture  of  "Alfred  dividing*  the  loafi"  and  afrerwards,  Graham's  *•  Escape  of 
>fary  qiieen  of  Scots,"  and  a  whole  length  portrait  of  himself;  all  which  are  m 
ike  court^room  of  that  company. 

J  Various  periodical  publications,  and  from  information  obligingly  commiK 
fiJcated  by  the  family. — See  also  Nichols'9.  Life  of  Bowyer, 


B  O  Y  E  R.  311 

mtt^ntiofi  to  his  pupils  education  (who  was^afterwards  lord 
Bathurst),  and  for  his  use  composed  two  compendious 
^  grammars,  the  one  Latin,  the  other  French ;  but  the  latter 
only  was  printed,  and  to  this  day  is  a  standard  book.  His 
hopes  of  preferment,  however,  appear  to  have  been  fal- 
lacious, which  his  biographer  attributes  to  his  siding  with 
a  different  party  from  the  Bathurst  family  in  the  political 
divisions  which  prevailed  at  that  time  in  the  nation,  Boyer, 
like  the  rest  of  his  countrymen  who  had  fled  hither  for  re- 

,  ligion,  being  a  zealous  whig.  After  this,  having  made 
himself  master  of  the  English  tongue,  he  became  an  author 
by  profession,  and  engaged  sometimes  alone,  and  some- 
liimes  "in, conjunction  with  the  booksellers,  in  various  com* 
pilatioifs,  and  periodical  works  of  the  political  kind,  parti* 
Gularly  a  newspaper  called  the  "  Post-Boy  ;"  the  "Political 
State  of  Great  Britain,"  published  io  volumes  from  17  lO 
to  1729  ;  a  '*  History  of  William  III."  5  vols.  8vo;  "An* 
nals  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,"  11  vols.  8vo,  and  a 
*^  Life  of  Queen  Anne,"  fol.  all  publications  now  more 
useful  than  when  published,  as  they  contain  many  state 
papers,  memorials,  &c.  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  find 
elsewhere  ;  but  his  name  is  chiefly  preserved  by  his  French 
Dictionary,  1699,  4to,  and  a  French  Grammar,  of  both 
which  he  lived  to  see  several  editions,  and  which  still  con- 
tinue to  be  printed.     His  political  principles  involved  him 

•  with  Swift,  who  often  speaks  contemptuously  of  him,  and 
with  Pope,  who  has  given  him  a  place  in  the  Dunciad.  He 
died  Nov.  16,  J  729,  at  a  house  he  had  built  in  Five  Fields, 
Chelsea,  and  was  buried  in  Chelsea  church-yard.  * 

BO\ER  (Claude),  of  the  French  academy,  was  born 
at  Alby  in  1618.  He  came  young  to  Paris,  where  he  cul- 
tivated his  talent  for  eloquence  ;  but,  having  preached  with 
little  success,  he  quitted  the  pulpit  tor  the  stage,  which  he 
had  been  declaiming  against,  and  now  devoted  himself  k> 
it  for  life,  ahyays  satisfied  with  himself,  but  seldom  with 
the  public.  Born  with  an  imagination  which  submitted  to 
no  restraint,  he  made  choice  pf  subjects  strangely  compH* 
cated,  and  equivocal  heroes  who  had  no  character  what- 
ever. Aiming  always  at  the  sublime,  where  the  simplicity 
of  nature  was  required,  he  fell  into  a  strain  of  boniibast^ 
unintelligible  perhaps  to  himself.  He  is  the  author  of 
tW0'*-and-twenty  dramatic  pieces,  full  of  fustian,  and  coq^ 

»  B'log.  Pramatica, — Mor^ri,— Swifi'i  Works ;  set  Index^ 


3U  B  O  Y  E  R. 

ducted  without  any  knowledge  of  the  drama.  His  Jaditb 
had  a  transient  success.  The  epigram  it  produced  from 
Racine  is  generally  known.  '^  Je  pleure,  h^las !  pour  ce 
pauvre  Holopherne,  si  m^chamment  mis  a  mort  par  Judith.^' 
This  piece,  applauded  during  a  whole  Lent,  was  hissed  off 
the  stage  in  the  Easter  holidays.  Champmesl^e,  asking 
the  reason  of  the  fickleness  of  the  pit,  was  answered,  thai 
the  hissers  bad  been  at  Versailles  at  the  sermons  of  the 
abbe  Boileau,  who  had  ridiculed  him.  Boyer,  at  length 
disheartened  by  this  constant  run  of  ill-success,  brought 
out  his  tragedy  of  Agamemnon  under  a  borrowed  Bame^ 
and  Racine,  his  grand  tormentor,  applauded  the  piece. 
Boyer  could  not  refrain  from  crying  out  in  the  pit,  ^^  It  is 
however  Boyer^s,  in  spite  of  Mons.  de  Racine;"  but  this 
transport  cost  him  dear,  for  his  tragedy  was  hissed  at  the 
next  performance.  He  died  at  Paris,  July  22,  1698,  aged 
eighty.  * 

BOYER  (John  Baptist  Nicholas),  a  learned  French 
physician,  was  born  at  Marseilles,  Augusts,  1693.  His 
father,  intending  to  bring  him  up  to  business,  gave  him  a 
suitable  education,  and  afterwards  sent  him  to  Constan- 
tinople, to  his  uncle,  who  was  consul  there ;  but  finding 
him  inclined  to  literature,  and  to  the  study  of  medicine,  he 
sent  him,  on  his  return  from  the  Levant,  to  the  university 
at  Montpellier.  In  1717,  he  took  the  degree  of  doctor, 
and  gave  for  his  inaugural  thesis,  **  A  dissertation  on  Ino* 
eulation  of  the  Small  Pox,"  which  he  had  seen  practised 
at  Constantinople.  On  the  plague  breaking  out  at  Mar- 
seilles, in  1720,  he  was  sent  there  with  five  other  physi- 
cians ;  and  his  conduct  on  that  occasion  having  been  ap- 
proved, he  was  rewarded  by  the  king  with  a  pension,  and 
was  made  physician  to  a  regiment  of  guards.  He  was  some 
years  after